On Thursday, Ukrainian officials confirmed the first “fully-fledged exchange of prisoners” with Russia on the one-month mark of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. At the same time, Kyiv also accused Moscow of forcibly deporting civilians out of the besieged Mariupol to Russia.
Although Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners earlier this week, the two war-torn neighbours conducted their first solider-to-solider swap on Thursday, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. Acting at the behest of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Vereshchuk confirmed, “In exchange for 10 captured occupiers, we rescued 10 of our servicemen.” She added that Kyiv had secured 19 Ukrainian civilian ship crew members in exchange for 11 Russian civilian seamen who were rescued near Odesa, a port city on the Black Sea.
The news regarding both the exchanges was confirmed by Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner, Tatiana Moskalkova.
⚡️ The first exchange of war hostages occurred on President @ZelenskyyUa's order. Additionally, today, #Ukraine exchanged 11 Russian sailors we rescued from a sunken ship near #Odesa to 19 Ukrainian sailors (authors of the legendary phrase "Russian warship go f*** yourself")
— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Ukrainian Parliament (@ua_parliament) March 24, 2022
👇 pic.twitter.com/HavGsHeaF9
The 19 Ukrainian sailors were captured amid their attempt to save Ukrainian forces on Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, in the early days of the war. Although it isn’t clear whether Ukrainian soldiers posted to the island were part of the exchange, authorities ensured that their release was being discussed.
Later on the same day, Vereshchuk accused Russian forces of violating international law for holding captive 14 Ukrainian civilians who were mostly local politicians and government officials. “We [Ukraine] will not let anyone go unpunished,” Vereshchuk warned, as she mentioned that the released Ukrainians had complained about being tortured by Russian forces.
It's a damn fine morning #Ukraine: Because #Ukrainian forces destroyed the Russian naval landing ship Orsk in occupied Berdyansk. Pics from RT video match location where the explosions happened. This will help Mariupol, as just 60km west of city. https://t.co/bnnAIopVxw pic.twitter.com/yWjvk1Hl7X
— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) March 24, 2022
On Wednesday, Moscow and Kyiv organised two prisoner exchanges, one of which saw Ukraine receive the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fyodorov, for nine Russian prisoners.
Separately, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Ukrainian civilians from Mariupol are being “forcibly deported to Russia” by Moscow’s forces. In a statement, they said Russian troops had deported about 6,000 Mariupol residents to “Russian filtration camps.” According to Kyiv, Moscow plans to use these residents as political hostages. Moreover, Kyiv also accused Moscow of firing at people being evacuating from the humanitarian corridors.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Navy confirmed that they had neutralised the Orsk large landing ship, a Russian naval transport vessel that was docked in Mariupol, dealing a major blow to Russia’s naval infrastructure. Russian state-run news agency TASS had previously reported the arrival of the 1,500 tonnes cargo capacity ship as an “epic event” that would act as a catalyst during Moscow’s invasion.