13 Azovstal defenders returned from Russian captivity - Coordination Headquarters
As a result of the 54th prisoner exchange, 88 privates and sergeants and 7 officers were released from Russian captivity.
This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Censor.NET reports.
Who was returned?
"Among them are 49 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (including a member of the 'air bridge' who volunteered to fly to Azovstal in a helicopter to help the units blocked there, and two from the Air Force), 21 National Guardsmen, 10 military sailors, seven from the Territorial Defence Forces, five border guards, two from the State Special Transport Service and one defender from a volunteer territorial community unit," the headquarters said.
All of those released this time are men: 88 privates and sergeants, seven officers.
In addition, the Coordination Headquarters reported that among those released, 23 people were defending Mariupol (thirteen of them were Azovstal defenders).
Return of other Ukrainian defenders
"41 fought in the Donetsk direction, nine each in the Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia directions, and three each in the Kherson and Kharkiv directions. One of the released sailors was in the Kyiv region at the time of the invasion and immediately joined the defence of his village against the occupiers as part of the Makariv territorial unit. While providing humanitarian aid to the local community, he was captured by Russian Buryat servicemen," the Coordination Headquarters said.
Many returning Ukrainian soldiers suffer from the consequences of injuries and have chronic diseases that require long-term treatment. Most of them had been held captive by the aggressor country since 2022. Among those released is a defender who was reported missing.
"Ukraine is grateful to the United Arab Emirates for their assistance and mediation in preparing the exchange. This is the 54th exchange of prisoners since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In total, the Coordination Headquarters managed to return 3,405 people from enemy captivity," the agency added.
As a reminder, today, 17 July, another 95 Ukrainian defenders were released from Russian captivity.
