Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration, said on Saturday that Ukrainian soldiers who defended Snake Island amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia have been released in a prisoner exchange.
"Another exchange of prisoners. We managed to free 12 of our people. The soldiers who defended, in particular, Mariupol, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Snake Island are going home," Yermak said on Twitter, according to a translation of his tweet, without revealing further details about the exchange including which Russian prisoners were released as part of the swap.
In a follow up tweet, he then wrote: "Over the last week, we managed to return 98 Ukrainians. We are working on the release of all our people. Thank you for the work of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War."
Snake Island, which is located in the Black Sea off Ukraine's southern coast near Odesa, was taken back from Russia by Ukrainian forces in June. The island is located close to vital shipping lanes and other parts of the Black Sea, making it key to help with Ukraine's import and export capacities.
Черговий обмін полоненими. Нам вдалося звільнити 12 наших людей. Додому їдуть воїни, які захищали зокрема Маріуполь, ЧАЕС та острів Зміїний. pic.twitter.com/CApZTlsbzN
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) November 26, 2022
Russia said at the time that it withdrew its forces from the island as a "gesture of goodwill," adding that its forces had "finished fulfilling their tasks" and "demonstrated that Russia is not blocking the UN's efforts to organise a humanitarian corridor to export agricultural goods from Ukraine."
However, Ukraine released a statement contradicting Moscow's remarks, saying that it forced Russian troops from the island during an overnight attack. Ukraine's armed forces then released a video showing an offensive on the island.
"Unable to withstand the fire of Ukraine's artillery, missile and air strikes, Russian army left Snake Island," the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, said.
The island became famous during the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its nine-month mark. A viral audio clip in late February showed Ukrainian soldiers telling a Russian warship that was approaching the island to "go f*** yourself" after they were told to surrender.
Ukrainian officials initially said that all 13 Ukrainian defenders positioned on the island were killed during a Russian offensive. However, the Ukrainian navy announced later that week that they were all alive, but were captured by Russian forces, The Jerusalem Post reported Saturday. Some of those captured were released in past prisoner exchange efforts.
Last week, delegates from Russia and Ukraine discussed a possible prisoner-of-war swap during a meeting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Reuters reported. Sources familiar with the matter told the news organization that the efforts, which were mediated by the UAE and didn't include the United Nations, were connected to resuming Russian ammonia exports, which are delivered to Asia and Africa through a Ukrainian pipeline.
On Thursday, Zelensky announced the release of the prisoners, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"Today, another 50 Ukrainian warriors were freed from Russian captivity. Two officers, 48 privates and sergeants. 15 of them were captured in the Kyiv region, on the territory of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Seven were captured on Zmiinyi Island. Finally, they will all be home," he said. "We will do absolutely everything possible and impossible to return every Ukrainian man and woman who are still being held by the occupiers."
Newsweek reached out to Russia's foreign affairs ministry for comment.
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