"Another 277 warriors have returned home from Russian captivity," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on the X social media platform.
He added that the released Ukrainians include members of "the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, and the border guards."
"They defended Mariupol and other directions in the Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions," Zelensky said on Saturday.
He thanked "everyone who made this return of our people possible," while also expressing gratitude to the United Arab Emirates "for their mediation."
Zelensky also said in his post that since the beginning of the full-scale war, "4,552 people—both warriors and civilians—have been successfully brought back home from Russian imprisonment."
"We remember all those who remain in captivity. We are searching for everyone who could be there. We must bring them all home," he declared.
Among those released are 268 privates and sergeants, as well as nine officers, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported.
Most of them are young people born after 2000, it said.
Meanwhile, Russia said 246 servicemen had been handed over by Kyiv, according to a report by the AP news agency.
The Russian defence ministry said a further 31 injured POWs had been handed over to Ukraine and 15 of its own wounded servicemen had also been returned by Kyiv, the Associated Press reported.
Russia invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on February 24, 2022, starting the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.
Sunday is day 1,151 of Russia's war on Ukraine.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, ukrinform.net, AP