02:35Russian servicemen 'taken prisoner in the Kursk region' were seen arrivig at Chkalovsky airport near Moscow on Saturday after 115 POWs were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine.
Footage shows the soldiers getting off the plane on the runway, where they are met by human rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova.
"The most important thing today is that our boys here on Russian soil are getting stronger. We are proud of them. They are our heroes, our shield, the descendants of the great victors of the Great Patriotic War," the ombudsman said.
In turn, the soldiers shared their feelings about returning home.
"Everything is fine now. Everything is better in the homeland," noted the serviceman Ivan Marmozov.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that "115 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime", adding that "115 of AFU prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange".
The ministry noted that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the numbers, saying that "another 115 defenders returned home today; they are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy and the State Border Service".
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Everything is better in the homeland' - Russian servicemen fly to Moscow after prisoner exchange
Russian servicemen 'taken prisoner in the Kursk region' were seen arrivig at Chkalovsky airport near Moscow on Saturday after 115 POWs were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine.
Footage shows the soldiers getting off the plane on the runway, where they are met by human rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova.
"The most important thing today is that our boys here on Russian soil are getting stronger. We are proud of them. They are our heroes, our shield, the descendants of the great victors of the Great Patriotic War," the ombudsman said.
In turn, the soldiers shared their feelings about returning home.
"Everything is fine now. Everything is better in the homeland," noted the serviceman Ivan Marmozov.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that "115 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime", adding that "115 of AFU prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange".
The ministry noted that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the numbers, saying that "another 115 defenders returned home today; they are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy and the State Border Service".
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Russian servicemen 'taken prisoner in the Kursk region' were seen arrivig at Chkalovsky airport near Moscow on Saturday after 115 POWs were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine.
Footage shows the soldiers getting off the plane on the runway, where they are met by human rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova.
"The most important thing today is that our boys here on Russian soil are getting stronger. We are proud of them. They are our heroes, our shield, the descendants of the great victors of the Great Patriotic War," the ombudsman said.
In turn, the soldiers shared their feelings about returning home.
"Everything is fine now. Everything is better in the homeland," noted the serviceman Ivan Marmozov.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that "115 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime", adding that "115 of AFU prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange".
The ministry noted that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the numbers, saying that "another 115 defenders returned home today; they are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy and the State Border Service".
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.