Ukraine war updates: Kyiv and Moscow exchange prisoners of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 200 people, including soldiers who fought at the Azovstal steelworks in the southern city of Mariupol, have been released from Russian captivity.

"Today, we returned over 200 warriors and civilians from Russian captivity," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"Soldiers, sergeants, and officers. Armed Forces, National Guard, Navy, and Border Guards. Some of the defenders fought in Mariupol and Azovstal," are among those released according to Zelenskyy. 

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Our people are home. Today, we returned over 200 warriors and civilians from Russian captivity.

Soldiers, sergeants, and officers. Armed Forces, National Guard, Navy, and Border Guards. Some of the defenders fought in Mariupol and Azovstal.

I thank everyone who, despite all… pic.twitter.com/h9D5bNQPhc

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 3, 2024 >

Separately, Russia announced 248 of its soldiers had been released by Ukraine following "complex" negotiations that the United Arab Emirates mediated.

"As a result of a complex negotiation process, 248 Russian servicemen have been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," Moscow's defense ministry said.

Russia accidentally bombs own village, vows to rebuild

Russia accidentally bombed houses in one of its own villages on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Voronezh Oblast Governor Alexander Gusev said nine houses in the village of Petropavlovka will be rebuilt after they were bombed by one of Russia's own warplanes. The Voronezh region lies in western Russia, near Ukraine.  

An "abnormal discharge of aircraft ammunition" took place, the state news agency RIA quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.

A small local school, an arts center, and an administrative building were also damaged in the incident.  

"Not a single resident will be left without help, we will support everyone as much as possible," Gusev said.

Norwegian F-16s headed to Denmark for training Ukrainian pilots

Norway will send two F-16 fighter jets to Denmark to help with the training of Ukrainian pilots, the Norwegian defense minister has said.

Ukraine has appealed for US-made F-16s to boost its air force as it fights off Russia's invasion, but its pilots, who are largely used only to Soviet-era warplanes, need to learn to adapt to the more modern aircraft.

Norway, which has replaced its own F-16s with the newer F-35 model, last year said it would join Denmark, the Netherlands and others in donating the aircraft to Kyiv.

EU sanctions major Russian diamond producer

The European Union has added diamond company Alrosa and its CEO to its sanctions list.

"In line with the diamond ban we have introduced with the 12th package of sanctions, the EU today lists Alrosa, the largest diamond-mining company in the world, and its CEO," the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

The G7 group announced a similar ban on Alrosa in December.

Moscow is accused of partly financing its invasion of Ukraine with revenue from diamond sales, which are worth an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion (€3.7 billion to €4.6 billion) a year. 

Russia has vowed to circumvent the sanctions.

A third of the world's rough diamonds at present is estimated to come from Siberian mines. More than 90% of them are produced by Alrosa, which is mostly owned by Russian government entities.

IAEA blocked from some Zaporizhzhia reactor halls

The UN nuclear watchdog has been denied access to some of the reactor halls at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is under Russian control.

"This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been granted access to a reactor hall of a unit that was in cold shutdown," International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement.

Grossi said experts have been denied access to reactor halls 1,2 and 6 for the past two weeks. 

The nuclear plant, Europe's largest, has been at the center of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces in 2022, and both sides have accused each other of compromising its safety.

IAEA officials were deployed to the plant in September 2022 and given limited access to the site. 

Grossi said his team will continue to request access to the reactor halls, where the reactor core and spent fuel are located.