Russian sources reported that the Crimean Peninsula was subjected to intense Ukrainian bombing yesterday, Wednesday (Anatolia)

Russia and Ukraine announced a prisoner exchange, in which about 200 prisoners of war from both sides returned, while mutual bombardment continues and fighting rages in several axes, most notably Donbas and Advivka, amid warnings issued by Kiev to its allies about a severe shortage of ammunition among its forces.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Moscow and Kiev simultaneously announced a prisoner exchange, which is the fifth of its kind in two years, according to what Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets announced.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the prisoner exchange included 195 Russian soldiers in exchange for approximately the same number of Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the return of 207 Ukrainian soldiers who were held captive by Russia and released in the deal.

Yesterday evening, Wednesday, Zelensky confirmed in a speech that more than 3,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war have now returned to Ukraine over the past two years.

Zelensky said in a post on social media: “Our soldiers have returned to the country,” and pledged to return all Ukrainian prisoners to their country, whether they were soldiers or civilians.

In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the prisoner exchange process, and stressed that Moscow seeks to return all its prisoners detained in Kiev.

Moscow said that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates, which played a role in many previous similar operations.

Last week, a Russian military plane crashed near the Ukrainian border in mysterious circumstances, killing all its passengers.

Moscow confirms that Kiev shot down the plane carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were scheduled to be exchanged.

20 Ukrainian missiles shot down

The exchange took place while mutual bombardment and battles continued on several fronts. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced yesterday evening, Wednesday, that it had destroyed 20 missiles launched by Ukraine over the Black Sea and in the Crimean Peninsula, and explained that the debris of some missiles fell on the peninsula.

The ministry said in a statement that Russian air defenses "destroyed 17 Ukrainian missiles over the Black Sea and 3 over the Crimean Peninsula."

Ukraine constantly targets the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, due to its importance to the Russian army from a logistical standpoint.

On the other hand, Moscow continues to put pressure on the Ukrainian defense lines, especially in Donbass and around Advivka, which is the center of the battles, and around which violent battles have been taking place for months between Russian and Ukrainian forces, which have led to heavy losses.

Russian President Putin confirmed yesterday evening, Wednesday, that Russian forces are stationed in positions on the outskirts of Advivka.

Ukrainian soldiers prepare to launch missiles into the Crimean Peninsula (Anatolia)

Severe shortage of ammunition

In a related context, Ukraine warned its allies yesterday, Wednesday, that it was facing a serious shortage of artillery shells, and said that Russia was deploying three times the Ukrainian firepower on the front lines every day.

Bloomberg News Agency said that Defense Minister Rustam Umarov wrote to his counterparts in the European Union this week describing the severe shortage of ammunition and weapons that his forces face as they try to repel the continuing Russian attacks.

It quoted Umarov as saying that Ukraine cannot fire more than two thousand shells per day across the front line, which extends for a distance of 1,500 kilometers, and this is less than a third of the ammunition used by Russia, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

He said that Ukraine needed to at least match the firepower used by its enemy, and stressed that "the side with the most ammunition to fight usually wins."

Mobilize support for Kiev

Washington is seeking to mobilize more support to provide Kiev with its needs of ammunition, military equipment, and financing. In this context, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met in Washington with members of the European Commission, and stressed the need to supply Ukraine with money and weapons, while Congress is still discussing a new financial aid package for Kiev. .

For her part, US envoy Victoria Nuland visited Ukraine yesterday, Wednesday, to confirm Washington's support for Kiev, and expressed her confidence that Ukraine will succeed in reviving its counterattack, despite the US Congress' procrastination in providing more military aid to Ukraine.

For its part, the European Union said, in a meeting of defense ministers yesterday, Wednesday, that the Union will be able to produce one million shells annually, and it is expected to double its production capacity to reach two million shells in 2025. The United States is also working to increase its production of missiles in order to help Ukraine meet its needs. .

But the European Union Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, told reporters after the end of the meeting of European defense ministers that the Union would only be able to deliver half a million shells that it had committed to providing to Kiev by the end of next March, and said, “We delivered 330,000 shells.”

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies