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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has facilitated the transfer of 350 prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine with this being the 13th time it has mediated such a transfer in a success. The most recent exchange involved 175 prisoners from Ukraine and 175 prisoners from Russia. The current total number of transfers facilitated by the UAE has now risen to 3,233 individuals transferred. This is another example of the UAE’s rising profile in mediating conflict as well as the willingness of the UAE to help with humanitarian causes.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) thanked both Russia and Ukraine for their cooperation asserting that the interchange demonstrates Abu Dhabi’s value as a trusted intermediary. The mediation has occurred in the backdrop of the ongoing hostilities and heightened international calls to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict that has persisted since February 2022.
UAE Mediation Efforts Succeed with New Exchange of 350 Captives between Russia and Ukrainehttps://t.co/dPhP7YlMiB pic.twitter.com/FGQTlZZj4a
— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) March 19, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the UAE’s role in a statement on X, stating, “I thank our team for their important work in finding Ukrainian prisoners of war and facilitating exchanges, as well as for the results that bring hope. We are also grateful to all our partners, especially the United Arab Emirates, for making today’s exchange possible.”
Today is another day when Ukraine brings its people back. 175 of our defenders have been released from Russian captivity. Another 22 defenders are returning home through measures beyond exchanges. Among them are severely wounded warriors and those whom Russia persecuted for… pic.twitter.com/r8vI7BiYxn
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 19, 2025
Russian officials also confirmed the exchange highlighting the return of injured soldiers and those detained on various charges.
UAE’s Growing Role as a Mediator:
The UAE has established itself as a reliable broker for global diplomacy when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This latest mediation was the 13th successful prisoner swap facilitated by Abu Dhabi since 2024. The UAE has helped itself to establish trust between warring parties bringing about good faith and dialogue to address above issues.
Few examples of Previous UAE-led prisoner exchanges took place on August 24th 2024 where the UAE mediated the exchange of 115 prisoners from both Russia and Ukraine bringing the total number of captives swapped to 1,788. Then on October 18th 2024 where the ninth mediation effort saw the exchange of 2,184 captives between the two countries. Also on December 30th 2024, the UAE’s tenth mediation recorded 2,484 captives successfully exchanged.
The UAE actively positions itself as a global mediator in humanitarian crises, building its diplomatic leverage in international relations. Given its ongoing approach to conflict resolution, the Gulf state will likely have an important part in future negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and other global players as well.
What’s the Latest in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict?
In an important turn of events, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a limited ceasefire agreement with Russia after a phone call with US President Donald Trump in which Trump suggested the US could oversee the safety of Ukraine’s power plants. The idea has already started some controversy.
I had a positive, very substantive, and frank conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump @POTUS. I thanked him for a good and productive start to the work of the Ukrainian and American teams in Jeddah on March 11—this meeting of the teams significantly helped… pic.twitter.com/JFBd5EeIkg
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 19, 2025
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump discussed a possible ceasefire targeting attacks on energy and infrastructure. The Kremlin announced that further talks had to be conducted upon conditions that mobilization in Ukraine should cease and military assistance to Ukraine should not be provided.
The most recent exchange mediated by the UAE was accompanied by a release of a separate group of 22 Ukrainian defenders including some who are gravely injured. President Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the UAE for helping facilitate these kinds of exchanges and reiterated that Ukraine intends to recover all of its people.
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russia and Ukraine swapped 175 prisoners in one of the largest exchanges since fighting began. #Ukraine #EuropeNews #SkyNews
— 🔴 Press review and more 🛰️ (@EUFreeCitizen) March 20, 2025
Sky News pic.twitter.com/G7wQ1c3hD1
