Ahmad 
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the repatriation of 248 Russian soldiers in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, for the first time in several months, after Kiev accused Moscow of obstructing negotiations in this regard.
“On January 3 of this year (Wednesday), as a result of a difficult negotiation process, 248 Russian soldiers were repatriated from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime,” the Russian military statement said, according to the text of the statement, quoting the Russian news agency TASS.
The statement explained that all released Russian soldiers are receiving the necessary medical and psychological aid, and the military transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force will deliver military personnel for treatment and rehabilitation in medical institutions of the Ministry of Defense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky separately confirmed the repatriation of more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners from Russia, Reuters reported.
It is not the first time the two sides have exchanged a number of prisoners over the course of the 22-month war.
There was no immediate acknowledgement from the UAE, which has maintained close trade ties with Moscow throughout Russia’s war on Ukraine.