Day 2 of swap: 27 Mariupol defenders freed, some units see first-ever returns
Photo: 27 Mariupol protesters returned to Ukraine (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
On the second day of the major prisoner exchange, 27 defenders of Mariupol returned to Ukraine. For the first time, soldiers from certain military units were also released from captivity, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Telegram.
On the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, 307 defenders returned to Ukraine. They include servicemembers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the Air Assault Forces, the Naval Forces, the Territorial Defense Forces, drone operators from the Unmanned Systems Forces, as well as soldiers of the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard of Ukraine. For the first time, prisoners were released from certain individual units and military formations.
"As part of this exchange, 27 defenders of Mariupol are returning home. All 307 released defenders are men from the ranks of enlisted and non-commissioned personnel," the statement said.
In total, Ukrainians who had fought in the Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk directions have returned home.
The youngest released prisoner is 25 years old, the oldest is 61. Among those freed are wounded and ill servicemembers.
Large-scale prisoner exchange
Today, May 24, the second stage of the major prisoner exchange in the 1,000-for-1,000 format took place. A total of 307 Ukrainian soldiers have returned home.
Altogether, 697 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity over the past two days. On the first day of the exchange, 390 people were freed — 270 servicemembers and 120 civilians. Those who returned included fighters from the Naval Forces, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, the National Guard, and the Border Guard Service.
More details about yesterday's exchange can be found in RBC-Ukraine's exclusive report.
It is known that Ukraine handed over 70 collaborators to Russia, including an associate of the traitor Viktor Medvedchuk.
