logo
UAE mediates exchange of 168 war captives between Russia, Ukraine

UAE mediates exchange of 168 war captives between Russia, Ukraine

ARN News Center2 days ago
The UAE has successfully mediated a new exchange of war captives between Russia and Ukraine, with 84 captives from each side, totalling 168 individuals.
This brings the total number of captives exchanged through UAE mediation to 4,349.
The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed gratitude to both Russia and Ukraine for their cooperation, highlighting the importance of the UAE's role in supporting efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis.
The Ministry noted that this successful exchange, the sixteenth of its kind, underscores the UAE's strong relations with both countries.
It also reaffirmed the UAE's continued commitment to facilitating peace efforts and addressing the humanitarian impacts of the conflict, particularly concerning refugees and captives.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the UAE for its assistance in the exchange in a post on social media platform X.
We are bringing Ukrainians back home to Ukraine. A new exchange, 84 people, both military personnel and civilians. Almost all of them require medical care and significant rehabilitation.
Among the civilians released today are those who had been held by the Russians since 2014,… pic.twitter.com/ITZDetOHIQ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 14, 2025
The last prisoner exchange was carried out in May, involving 205 captives from each side.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Zelensky to travel to Washington Monday after Trump's talks with him, NATO leaders
Zelensky to travel to Washington Monday after Trump's talks with him, NATO leaders

Al Etihad

timean hour ago

  • Al Etihad

Zelensky to travel to Washington Monday after Trump's talks with him, NATO leaders

16 Aug 2025 12:23 WASHINGTON (AGENCIES)US President Donald Trump held a lengthy phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and spoke to NATO after the US leaders president's Friday summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House later said on Telegram he would travel to Washington on Monday: 'On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, DC, to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation."Trump held the calls on his way back to Washington, landing in the early hours of Saturday Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was among those on the call, in which Trump briefed European leaders about the summit, von der Leyen's spokesperson said. A NATO official said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also took part, while the Elysee confirmed French President Emmanuel Macron's from Germany, Finland, Poland, Italy and Britain also joined the call, according to the European reporter Barak Ravid said, citing a source, that Trump spoke for more than an hour and a half with Zelensky and European highly anticipated summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska yielded no agreement to resolve or pause Russia's war in Ukraine, although both leaders described the talks as productive before heading a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour meeting in Alaska, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions. Trump also did not take questions when he landed in the United States at Joint Base Andrews.

Trump and Putin end Alaska summit without Ukraine deal
Trump and Putin end Alaska summit without Ukraine deal

Al Etihad

time4 hours ago

  • Al Etihad

Trump and Putin end Alaska summit without Ukraine deal

16 Aug 2025 09:02 ANCHORAGE (AFP)US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin made no breakthrough on Ukraine at their high-stakes summit on Friday, pointing to areas of agreement and rekindling a friendship but offering no news on a an abrupt ending to three hours of talks with aides, Trump and Putin offered warm words but took no questions from reporters.'We're not there yet, but we've made progress. There's no deal until there's a deal,' Trump called the meeting "extremely productive" with "many points" agreed, although he did not offer specifics.'There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant, one is probably the most significant,' Trump said without also spoke in general terms of cooperation in a joint press appearance that lasted just 12 minutes.'We hope that the understanding we have reached will... pave the way for peace in Ukraine,' Putin Trump mused about a second meeting, Putin smiled and said in English: 'Next time in Moscow.'Putin also tried to flatter Trump, who had voted admiration for the Russian leader in the past. He told Trump he agreed with him that the Ukraine war, which Putin ordered, would not have happened if Trump were the summit, Trump had warned of 'severe consequences' if Russia did not accept a ceasefire. But when asked about those consequences during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity after the talks, Trump said that "because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now."The friendly reception contrasted with Trump's berating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he met him at the White House in earlier said he wanted a three-way meeting with Zelensky but did not announce one at the summit. Instead, Trump said he would now consult Zelensky as well as NATO leaders, who have voiced unease about the US leader's outreach to Putin.'Now it's really up to President Zelensky to get it done,' Trump said in the Fox News interview after the invited Putin just a week ago and ensured there was some carefully choreographed drama for their first in-person meeting since two leaders arrived in their respective presidential jets and descended on the tarmac of an air base, with Trump clapping as Putin appeared. US military might had been on display with a B-2 stealth bomber flying grinned widely as Trump took the unusual step of escorting him into "The Beast," the secure US presidential limousine, before a meeting in a room before a screen that said -- in English only -- "Pursuing Peace."Putin smiled and joked with Russian reporters on the had insisted he would be firm with Putin. While he was traveling to Alaska, the White House announced that Trump had scrapped a plan to see Putin alone and he instead held the talks alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his roving envoy Steve was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia. 'It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,' Zelensky said in a social media post.

VIDEO: Trump, Putin shake hands at start of Alaska summit
VIDEO: Trump, Putin shake hands at start of Alaska summit

Gulf Today

time6 hours ago

  • Gulf Today

VIDEO: Trump, Putin shake hands at start of Alaska summit

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shook hands and smiled at an air base in Alaska on Friday as they opened a high-risk summit that will test the US president's promise to end the bloody war in Ukraine. In choreographed drama, Trump and Putin each arrived in their presidential jets and walked under gray skies to greet each other on the tarmac, before walking a red carpet together to an honor guard salute. As fighter jets circled overhead, a reporter shouted audibly to Putin, "Will you stop killing civilians?" Neither leader answered as they posed at a podium that said "Alaska 2025" before Putin -- in a highly unusual move -- followed Trump into the US presidential limousine. For the Russian president, the summit marks his first foray onto Western soil since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a relentless conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people. Both leaders have voiced hopes of a productive meeting. But while Trump warned he could judge it a failure after just a few minutes if Putin does not budge, the Kremlin said the two would speak for at least six or seven hours. In recent days Russia has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Putin's hand in any ceasefire negotiations, although Ukraine announced as Putin was flying that it had retaken some villages. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Anchorage, Trump sounded a positive note. "There's a good respect level on both sides and I think something's going to come out of it," he said. Trump has insisted he will be firm with Putin, after coming under some of the most heated criticism of his presidency for appearing cowed during a 2018 summit in Helsinki. The White House on Friday abruptly announced that Trump was scrapping a plan to see Putin alone and instead would be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his roving envoy Steve Witkoff before a working lunch. Every word and gesture will be closely watched by European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included and has refused pressure from Trump to surrender territory seized by Russia. "It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelensky said in a social media post. Trump has called the summit a "feel-out meeting" to test Putin, whom he last saw in 2019, and said Friday he was not going to Alaska to negotiate. "I'm here to get them at the table," he said of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would not forecast the outcome of the meeting. "We never make any predictions ahead of time," Lavrov told Russian state TV after he reached Alaska, wearing what appeared to be a shirt with "USSR" written across it in Cyrillic script. Trump has promised to consult with European leaders and Zelensky, saying that any final agreement would come in a three-way meeting with Putin and the Ukrainian president to "divvy up" territory. Trump has boasted of his relationship with Putin, blamed predecessor Joe Biden for the war, and had vowed before his return to the White House in January that he would be able to bring peace within 24 hours. But despite repeated calls to Putin, and a February 28 White House meeting in which Trump publicly berated Zelensky, the Russian leader has shown no signs of compromise. Saying he "would walk" from the table if the meeting didn't go well, Trump told reporters he "wouldn't be happy" if a ceasefire could not be secured immediately. The talks were taking place at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the largest US military installation in Alaska and a Cold War facility for surveillance of the former Soviet Union. Adding to the historical significance, the United States bought Alaska in 1867 from Russia -- a deal Moscow has cited to show the legitimacy of land swaps. Neither leader is expected to step off the base into Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, where protesters have put up signs of solidarity with Ukraine. The summit marks a sharp change in approach from Western European leaders and Biden, who vowed not to hold discussions with Russia on Ukraine unless Kyiv was also involved. Agence France-Presse

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store