Ukraine welcomes home ‘heroes’ after prisoner swap; Russian mobilization sparks anti-war protests

Anti-war protests have erupted in Russia after President Putin announced a partial mobilization of the country’s military that will see 300,000 reservists sent to war in Ukraine.

Ten prisoners of war from five countries, including the U.S. and U.K., have been released after being detained in Russian-held areas of Ukraine on Wednesday as part of a wider prisoner exchange between the warring countries in which several hundred Ukrainian soldiers were exchanged for Russian troops.

The prisoner exchange was something of a surprise on a day when tensions between Russia and the West rose even higher after Putin announced the partial mobilization and again blamed the West for the conflict in Ukraine.

Following Putin’s announcement, President Joe Biden called on the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and oppose Russian aggression, condemning the Kremlin’s invasion as an attack on the global body’s founding principles.