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The latest exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine, this time amounting to 339 people, deeply shocked the victims and their families, whose images were shown by various international media.
This is the second prisoner exchange to take place in the past two months between the two warring countries; in total, there have been around 59 exchanges since 2022 involving more than 6,000 people from both sides, according to international news agencies.
Reuters news agency showed television footage of relatives and colleagues of Ukrainian servicemen waiting outside a building and crying loudly.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has also published images showing a group of freed soldiers on board a bus, with smiling faces and waving at the camera.
The deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates on New Year's Eve resulted in the handover of 189 Ukrainian servicemen by Russia, while Ukraine released 150 people. The reason for the discrepancy in the number of those released is still unknown.
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