Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Brings Home 103 POWs from Russia

A Russian soldier stands next to a damaged Ukrainian military vehicle in the Russian-Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region (The AP)
A Russian soldier stands next to a damaged Ukrainian military vehicle in the Russian-Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region (The AP)
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Brings Home 103 POWs from Russia

A Russian soldier stands next to a damaged Ukrainian military vehicle in the Russian-Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region (The AP)
A Russian soldier stands next to a damaged Ukrainian military vehicle in the Russian-Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region (The AP)

Ukraine brought home on Saturday 103 servicemen from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, announcing the second swap between Moscow and Kyiv in two days.

The Russian troops freed in Saturday's swap were captured during Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region, which began on 6 August, according to the Russian defense ministry.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Ukrainian side.

"As a result of the negotiation process, 103 Russian servicemen captured in the Kursk region were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," the Russian defense ministry said.

"In return, 103 Ukrainian army prisoners of war were handed over."

"At present, all Russian servicemen are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance, as well as an opportunity to contact their relatives," the ministry added.



Iran Says It Is Open to Talks but Rejects Pressure as US, EU Impose Sanctions

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Iran Says It Is Open to Talks but Rejects Pressure as US, EU Impose Sanctions

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Iran's foreign minister said that Tehran was open to diplomacy to solve disputes but not "threats and pressure", state media reported on Saturday, after the US and three European powers imposed sanctions against the country's aviation sector.

Abbas Araqchi's comments come a day after The European Union's chief diplomat said the bloc is considering new sanctions targeting Iran's aviation sector, in reaction to reports Tehran supplied Russia with ballistic missiles in its war against Ukraine, Reuters reported.

"Iran continues on its own path with strength, although we have always been open to talks to resolve disputes ... but dialogue should be based on mutual respect, not on threats and pressure," Araqchi said, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran had not delivered any ballistic missiles to Russia and sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and three European powers would not solve any problems between them.

The United States, Germany, Britain and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.