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What happened on 3 January 2024 in the war?
Summary
A prisoner exchange brokered with Emirati mediation and a Turkish refusal over Royal Navy minehunters marked the day, after strikes on Kharkiv and Kyiv.
What did the third day of 2024 bring in the war between Russia and Ukraine? On 3 January 2024, the two sides completed their first prisoner exchange in nearly five months, with more than 200 people released on each side. The United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange.
A Black Sea access dispute
The same day, Turkey denied access to the Black Sea for two Royal Navy minehunters. Ankara said that their passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits would violate the Montreux Convention of 1936. The decision touched on the question of military aid to Ukraine during the war, and it featured in Turkey–Ukraine relations.
After the strikes
The exchange followed a night of heavy attacks. On 2 January 2024, a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv killed four civilians and injured nearly 100 others. A separate Russian missile attack in Kyiv injured at least 27 civilians.
The contrast defined the period: a negotiated release of prisoners, with Gulf mediation, came a day after missile strikes on two of Ukraine's major cities. Meanwhile, the Montreux Convention was invoked as grounds for keeping foreign naval vessels out of the Black Sea.
