18 conducted their 58th prisoner exchange, with each side swapping 95 detainees. Prisoners returned to Ukraine include human rights activist Maksym Butkevych and 34 soldiers of the Azov Regiment. The returned Russian prisoners were mostly conscripts, many of whom were captured in Kursk Oblast, according to "Our Way Out," an organization founded by Russian women to help families of POWs locate their relatives in Ukraine. The returned prisoners also reportedly included some mobilized Russian fighters and contract soldiers, including kadyrovtsy, the notoriously ruthless troops named for Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.Ukrainian forces have controlled some parts of Kursk Oblast since launching a surprise cross-border incursion in early August. Along with occupying about 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory, Ukrainian troops captured hundreds of Russian soldiers in the region.Many of those captured in the Kursk incursion were conscripts, young men undergoing their mandatory 12 months of military service who never expected to see combat.
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