"Being captive means total isolation": What matters most to soldiers after release
What interests Ukrainian prisoners after their release (Photo: t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
While held in Russian captivity, Ukrainians have no access to information. After their return, they are interested in whether the country is still fighting and what is happening back home, states Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters.
Yatsenko explained that Ukrainians held captive were kept in information isolation, so after returning to Ukraine, they have many questions.
“First of all, everyone wants to know the exchange rate of the dollar, how much a loaf of bread costs, how much eggs cost, how much gasoline costs. Our guys are, unfortunately, cut off from information,” Yatsenko said.
He said that there is information indicating that Ukrainians held captive in Russia were shown only Russian television about a week before their release.
“So they were in complete information isolation, but they are very optimistic and will catch up on the information very quickly,” he emphasized.
Yatsenko added that the freed Ukrainians are also interested in what condition Ukraine and Ukrainians are in now, whether Ukraine is still fighting, whether Ukrainians have not lost hope after three years of Russian aggression, and whether they still have the strength to continue fighting.
“And the guys are very optimistic. Very exhausted, very undernourished, but it’s all a matter of time. Rehabilitation programs have been developed. They will spend about a month recovering, regaining strength, receiving medical treatment, and then they will work according to individual programs. Because after 2-3 years in Russian captivity, it’s difficult to return to normal life - it’s very hard,” the Coordination Headquarters representative said.
Prisoner exchange '1000 for 1000'
On May 16, during negotiations in Istanbul, the delegations from Ukraine and Russia agreed on the largest prisoner exchange, specifically in the format of 1000 for 1000.
Later, it was decided that due to the scale of the exchange, the process would take place in several stages. In particular, on May 23, the first exchange took place. The parties handed over 390 people each - 270 military personnel and 120 civilians.
Yesterday, May 24, the second day of the exchange occurred. This time, 307 defenders of our country returned home to Ukraine.
More details about the first two exchanges can be found in the article by RBC-Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a statement yesterday regarding the final stage of the exchange.
