Russia and Ukraine exchanged 146 prisoners each on Sunday in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates, officials from both sides confirmed.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said many of those freed had been in captivity since 2022 and included a journalist taken early in the war. He thanked the UAE for its role in the exchange, according to Reuters.

Russia said the released soldiers were receiving care in Belarus and noted that eight civilians from the Kursk region were also returned. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky accused Kyiv of delaying the return of other Kursk residents, calling the process “painful bargaining.”