As a result of measures taken by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on behalf of the President of Ukraine, 95 more Ukrainian servicemen were released from enemy captivity.
Among those released are 49 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including a member of the “air bridge” who volunteered to fly a helicopter to Azovstal to help the blocked units, as well as two servicemen from the Air Force. In addition, 21 National Guardsmen, 10 sailors, seven members of the Territorial Defense Forces, five border guards, two representatives of the State Special Transport Service, and one defender from a volunteer territorial community group were among those liberated.
All of those released this time are men: 88 privates and sergeants, seven officers. Among our heroes who gained their freedom, 23 defended Mariupol (including 13 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 occupiers as part of the Makariv territorial defense unit. While providing humanitarian aid to the local community, he was captured by Russian soldiers.
Many returning Ukrainian soldiers suffer from the consequences of their injuries and have chronic illnesses that require long-term treatment. Most of them have been in captivity since 2022. Also among those released is a defender who was reported missing.
Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for its assistance and mediation in the preparation of the exchange.
This is the 54th exchange of prisoners since the beginning of the full-scale invasion