Latest news with #TatyanaMoskalkova
Russia Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russian civilians and soldiers return home in prisoner swap with Ukraine (VIDEOS)
The first groups of around 120 civilians and 270 military personnel released from Ukrainian captivity as part of a major prisoner exchange safely returned to Russia on Friday evening. While Moscow and Kiev have conducted several prisoner swaps since the escalation of hostilities in 2022, this exchange is expected to be the largest to date. The two sides agreed to a 1,000-for-1,000 exchange during last week's direct negotiations in Istanbul — the first such talks since Ukraine unilaterally withdrew from dialogue in 2022. Each country returned 270 soldiers and 120 civilians in the initial phase of the deal. The Russian soldiers were first transferred to Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, before being flown to the Russian capital, according to footage shared by Russian media outlets. Some of the freed civilians have already been brought home to the Kursk Region. Russia's Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova welcomed the release of 'civilians and political prisoners' captured during Ukraine's raid into the region last year, noting that some of them required medical assistance, and that 'the story of each of them is akin to an adventure novel or a political thriller.' She also added that around 34 residents of Kursk remain in Ukrainian custody. The swap is expected to continue in the coming days. Once the exchange is complete, Moscow will likely be ready to present its draft peace memorandum to Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. The Russian side is 'actively working' on the document in accordance with the principles agreed during the Istanbul talks, he added. According to calculations by the Telegram channel Mash, the Istanbul deal would see Russia recover nearly all of its soldiers captured by Ukraine over the past three years. The channel estimated the total number of Russian prisoners of war at around 1,300, noting that Ukraine would recover only about one-tenth of its troops currently held by Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that he had agreed with US President Donald Trump that the next step toward resolving the conflict would involve drafting a memorandum outlining the core principles and timeline for a peace settlement. Trump welcomed the launch of the prisoner swap on Friday, expressing hope that it would 'lead to something big.'
Al Arabiya
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ukraine returns 33 civilians from Russia's Kursk border region: Moscow
Ukraine has returned to Russia a handful of civilians displaced from the western Kursk region after Kyiv's shock cross-border offensive into Russian territory, Moscow officials said Monday. Hundreds of Russians have been stuck in Ukrainian-seized territory following the offensive, launched in August, triggering concern and some anger at the authorities among their relatives. Moscow said last week that it had struck a deal with Kyiv to secure the return of some civilians who had crossed into Ukraine's neighbouring Sumy region since the offensive was launched. 'With the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross and mediation by Belarus, 33 residents of the Kursk region have been evacuated to Russia from Ukraine,' Russia's human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova said on Telegram. 'Most are elderly, but there are also four children. Many have severe injuries and illnesses,' she said. Moskalkova posted a video showing her greeting elderly women -- one being carried on a stretcher -- at the Novaya Guta border post in Belarus after their return. Pat Griffiths, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based in Ukraine, told AFP the group had been taken to the Ukrainian city of Sumy last month. Russia's governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, said their return was the result of many months of 'difficult negotiations.' The youngest of those returned was a one-year-old girl, he posted on Telegram. Ukraine has also been seeking the return of civilians caught in Russian-occupied parts of the country since Moscow launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022. These include around 20,000 children that Ukraine says have been forcibly 'deported' to Russia. Kyiv separately announced Monday the return of seven children from areas of Ukraine seized by Russia's army in a deal mediated by Qatar. Russia has been gradually clawing back territory in Kursk since Ukraine's army launched the attack in August -- the first time a foreign army has seized Russian land since World War II. Kyiv, which sees its hold of part of the Kursk region as a key bargaining chip in possible ceasefire talks with Moscow, conceded last month that it had lost around two-thirds of the ground it had initially captured.
Al-Ahram Weekly
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Ukraine returns 33 civilians from Russia's Kursk border region: Moscow - War in Ukraine
Ukraine has returned to Russia a handful of civilians displaced from the western Kursk region amid Kyiv's shock cross-border offensive into Russian territory, Moscow officials said Monday. Hundreds of Russians have been stuck in Ukrainian-seized territory following the offensive, launched in August, triggering concern and some anger at the authorities among their relatives. Moscow said last week it had struck a deal with Kyiv to secure the return of some civilians who had crossed into Ukraine's neighbouring Sumy region since the offensive was launched. "With the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross and mediation by Belarus, 33 residents of the Kursk region have been evacuated to Russia from Ukraine," Russia's human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova said on Telegram. "Most are elderly, but there are also four children. Many have severe injuries and illnesses," she added. Moskalkova posted a video showing her greeting elderly women -- one being carried on a stretcher -- at the Novaya Guta border post in Belarus after their return. Pat Griffiths, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based in Ukraine, told AFP the group had been taken to the Ukrainian city of Sumy last month. Russia's governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, said their return was the result of many months of "difficult negotiations". The youngest of those returned was a one-year-old girl, he said in a post on Telegram. Ukraine has also been seeking the return of civilians caught in Russian-occupied parts of the country since Moscow launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022. These include some 20,000 children that Ukraine says have been forcibly "deported" to Russia. Russia has been gradually clawing back territory in the Kursk region since Ukraine's army launched the attack in August -- the first time a foreign army has seized Russian land since World War II. Kyiv, which sees its hold of part of the Kursk region as a key bargaining chip in possible ceasefire talks with Moscow, conceded last month it had lost around two-thirds of the ground it had initially captured there. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Russia Today
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Dozens of Russian civilians returned by Ukraine
Kiev has handed over 33 civilians from Ukrainian-controlled parts of Russia's Kursk Region, Moscow's human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has announced. Most of the repatriated citizens are elderly, the official TO FOLLOW
Al Jazeera
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,097
Here is the situation on Tuesday, February 25: Fighting A 44-year-old woman was injured, and several houses were damaged following a Russian air attack in the Kyiv region, according to Mykola Kalashnyk, governor of the region that surrounds the Ukrainian capital. Poland scrambled military aircraft after Russia launched air raids on western Ukraine, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command said. Russia's air defence units intercepted and destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones overnight, the RIA Novosti and TASS state news agencies reported, citing the Ministry of Defence. Ukraine activated air raid alerts across the country at 03:50 GMT after the air force warned of a Russian missile attack. The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. Politics and diplomacy Russia's Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said Moscow and Kyiv reached an agreement with the Red Cross to evacuate residents from the occupied Russian region of Kursk. The United Kingdom posted a notice on its government website announcing 67 new sanctions against Russia. The targets include global companies supplying to the Russian military and extending the regime on shipping by 40 vessels. Washington and Moscow officials are scheduled to meet again in Saudi Arabia, the AFP news agency reported citing an anonymous diplomatic source. Senior US and Russian officials met in Riyadh last week to discuss an end to the war. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it has submitted a new claim against Russia at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the arbitrary arrest and deportation of 19 Ukrainian journalists. The European Union's foreign ministers adopted a 16th package of sanctions against Russia. The targets include cryptocurrency exchange for the first time and a ban on third-country airlines that continue operations in Russia. The United States twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations, highlighting Washington's change of stance on the war. The two countries opposed a European-drafted resolution, passed by the UN General Assembly, condemning Russia and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity, but pushed a US-drafted resolution through at the UN Security Council calling for an end to the conflict but refraining from criticism of Russia. US President Donald Trump said he would meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as early as this week to sign the rare earth deal in exchange for US aid. Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin said Russia was not concerned about the US-Ukraine deal on rare earth elements. President Vladimir Putin said Russia was not opposed to Europe's involvement in peace talks. However, he noted that Brussels had previously declined to engage in dialogue with Russia.
