Russia, Ukraine exchange 103 prisoners each as tensions run high over long-range weapons

Russia and Ukraine on Saturday (Sep 14) exchanged 103 prisoners each in a major swap deal brokered by the UAE. Citing the Russian defence ministry, Interfax news agency reported that the soldiers released on Saturday were captured from the Kursk region, as Ukrainian fighters smashed their way into the Russian territory last month.

"At the moment, all Russian servicemen are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus where they are provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance and given the opportunity to contact their relatives," the Russian defence ministry stated on Telegram.

The move comes amidst heightened tensions between Moscow and NATO nations on the issue of the use of long-range strike missiles by Ukraine.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Meanwhile, Russian attacks escalated in Ukraine’s Sumy region on Friday as it pounded the area 84 times and launched strikes on at least 15 border sites, claimed the regional authorities. Reuters reported that at least two people died in these attacks.

Despite the Kursk offensive by Ukraine, Russia’s westward advance picked up pace as President Vladimir Putin’s men claimed to havetakencontrol of the village of Zhelanne Pershe in the Donetsk region.

Russia threatens to destroy Kyiv

Senior Russian security official and former President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday warned that his nation may destroy the capital city of Kyiv in response to the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine.

He added that Russia would use non-nuclear weapons in the strike even though they had ‘formal grounds to use nuclear weapons since Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.’

The official warned that Moscow would turn Kyiv into a “giant melted spot” if Putin’s patience ran out.

Outgoing NATO chief on Ukraine war

Meanwhile, outgoing NATO chiefJens Stoltenberg said that the alliance had known that Russia would invade Ukraine and it should have done more to prevent it.

“I wasn’t surprised because we knew from the intelligence services what was going to happen. But seeing it actually happen still shocked me. I realized that this was a turning point in our history: there is a Europe before that day and another Europe after that day,” he was quoted as saying by a weekly German paper.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos

(With inputs from agencies)