UAE mediates exchange of 292 captives between Russia and Ukraine

The UAE has mediated a new exchange of captives between Russia and Ukraine, which involved 292 captives - 146 from each side.

The Gulf country has been increasingly involved in diplomatic and mediation efforts, and has successfully moderated 17 captive exchanges which involved 4,641 prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its gratitude to the two countries for their cooperation with the UAE’s mediation efforts, and expressed its commitment to ensuring the success of all efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine and alleviating the humanitarian consequences of the crisis.

The Russian ministry said all of the freed Russians were in Belarus receiving psychological and medical assistance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted pictures of smiling returnees, saying most of them had been in captivity since 2022, when Russia invaded its smaller neighbour. He said a journalist taken prisoner a month after the invasion was among them.

Zelenskiy thanked the United Arab Emirates for its role in overseeing the swap.

UAE Mediation Efforts Succeed with New Exchange of 292 Captives Between Russia and Ukrainehttps://t.co/cmjxWOilwM pic.twitter.com/L4C2o0ZPkp

— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) August 24, 2025