Ukraine's Security Service releases exclusive footage of 205 Ukrainian POWs' exchange
Photo: Ukraine and Russia exchange prisoners on May 6 (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Today, 205 Ukrainian defenders have returned from Russian captivity. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has released exclusive footage of the large-scale exchange, according to the SSU.
The large-scale exchange of Ukrainian servicemen, successfully carried out on 6 May, is the result of the work of the Joint Center for Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War.
"Every Ukrainian life is of the highest value. We are working to fulfill the order of the President of Ukraine and bring home every one of our citizens held in captivity," the SSU stated, while publishing the video.
The exchange process was coordinated by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Details about the condition of the released defenders are not being disclosed for security reasons.
Return of 205 servicemen
On 6 May, a major prisoner exchange took place between Ukraine and Russia, resulting in the release of 205 Ukrainian servicemen. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the news, thanking everyone who contributed to the exchange, including the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.
The released troops had been held across various Russian regions. Among them are representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the Navy, Air Force, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service.
All of the freed heroes fought on the front lines in various regions of Ukraine, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Kyiv regions, as well as in Mariupol.
According to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, this is already the 64th POW exchange since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Lubinets also noted that among those released are seriously ill and wounded individuals.
Prisoner exchanges
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, more than 4,000 prisoners of war and civilians have been released from Russian captivity since the beginning of the full-scale war.
The previous exchange of prisoners took place on Easter eve, April 19, when 277 Ukrainian defenders were released from Russian captivity.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Ukraine managed to achieve a separate mechanism for the return of seriously wounded and seriously ill citizens from Russian captivity.
