Ten defenders who were considered missing in action have spoken about their return from captivity: "I thought it was dream". VIDEO
Ten Ukrainian servicemen, who had been officially listed as missing in action, have spoken about their experiences in Russian captivity, their release and the first few days after returning home. The stories of these defenders and their families have been compiled into a single video, recorded after their return to Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, all ten soldiers returned from Russian captivity on 24 August as part of the second phase of the prisoner exchange with the Russian Federation.
Until their release, there was virtually no information about the soldiers’ fate. Two of the defenders had been officially listed as missing in action since 2024, and another eight since 2025. All this time, their families lived in uncertainty, waiting for any news at all.
In the video, the soldiers recall the moment they learnt of their release, their journey home and the first few minutes after their return.
"Lads, you can relax now," recalls one of the defenders, recounting the words he heard when it became clear that their captivity was over.
For some, the realisation that they had truly returned did not come straight away.
"I thought it was a dream," says one of the freed soldiers.
A separate section of the video is dedicated to the families of the defenders. Their loved ones recall the months of waiting without any reliable information about the soldiers’ fate and the moment when they finally received news of their release.
Among the ten defenders who have returned are servicemen from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard who took part in combat operations in the Donetsk sector.
Those involved in the operation expressed their gratitude to all state bodies, military units, security services, civil society organisations and individuals who worked to locate and return the defenders. Some of those involved in the operation, it is noted, cannot yet be named publicly.
