Ukraine returns 95 defenders from Russian captivity
Photo: Prisoners of war exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Ukraine has returned 95 defenders from Russian captivity. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I am grateful to our exchange team and the United Arab Emirates for mediating this release. No matter how difficult it is, we are looking for everyone who may be in captivity. We have to return everyone,” he says.
In his turn, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets says that a total of 3,405 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
“Next, the returned soldiers will eat, get clean clothes, be examined by doctors, and receive the necessary treatment and rehabilitation. We are grateful to the UEA for their help in returning our soldiers. Ukraine once again confirms its desire to return all its citizens to their native land and is working in this direction,” he emphasizes.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that 49 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were released from Russian captivity, including a member of the “air bridge” who volunteered to fly a helicopter to Azovstal to help the blocked units and two from the Ukrainian Air Force.
Also released were 21 National Guardsmen, 10 sailors, seven from the Territorial Defense Forces, five border guards, two from the State Special Transport Service, and one defender from a volunteer territorial community unit.
All of those released this time are men: 88 privates and sergeants, 7 officers. Among the men who were released, 23 defended Mariupol (thirteen of them were Azovstal defenders), 41 fought in the Donetsk sector, nine in the Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia sectors, and three in the Kherson and Kharkiv sectors.
One of the liberated sailors was in Kyiv region at the time of the invasion and immediately joined the defense of his village against the Russian occupiers as part of the Makariv territorial defense unit. While providing humanitarian aid to the local community, he was captured by Russian Buryat soldiers.
Many returning Ukrainian soldiers suffer from the consequences of injuries and have chronic diseases that require long-term treatment. Most of them have been held captive by Russia since 2022. Among those released is a defender who was reported missing.
Prisoner exchange
On June 25, Ukraine conducted another exchange of prisoners of war with Russia. Then 90 defenders returned home. On June 28, the deputy chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Nariman Dzhelal, who was captured in 2021, was returned from Russian captivity. Nine more Ukrainians were also returned, including two priests.
On July 10, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said that Ukraine, with the support of the UAE, is planning a large-scale exchange with Russia, during which women prisoners of war will be returned.
In addition, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, more than 400 Ukrainian women are currently in Russian captivity.
