Ukraine’s Mariupol Defenders, Putin Ally in Prisoner Swap
In the prisoner swap, 200 Ukrainians were exchanged for just one man — a 68-year-old oligarch, the pro-Russian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, who is Ukrainian.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine announced a high-profile prisoner swap early Thursday that was the culmination of months of efforts to free many of the Ukrainian fighters who defended a steel plant in Mariupol during a long Russian siege. In exchange, Ukraine gave up a prominent ally of President Putin and 55 other prisoners.
President Zelensky said his government had won freedom from Russian custody for 215 Ukrainian and foreign citizens, with the help of Turkish and Saudi mediation efforts. He said many were soldiers and officers who had faced the death penalty in Russian-occupied territory.
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