Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) on Monday, in which Kiev brought home 189 former prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday.

Zelensky thanked the United Arab Emirates and other partners for facilitating the exchange.

“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of those days. our team managed to bring home 189 Ukrainians,” Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the prisoner exchange earlier Monday, saying each side had released 150 prisoners of war.There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy in the reported numbers.

Zelensky said the returned Ukrainians include soldiers, sergeants and officers from various frontline regions, as well as two civilians captured by Russian forces in the southern port of Mariupol in 2022.

Pictures released by Zelensky show dozens of men sitting on a bus, some of them draped in the blue and yellow national flags of Ukraine.