Those taken captive in 2018, 2020 and 2022, seriously ill and survivors of Olenivka terrorist attack: Coordination Headquarters provides details of POW swap. PHOTOS
Following negotiations conducted by the Coordination Headquarters on the instructions of the President of Ukraine, 261 Ukrainian service members were freed from Russian captivity. Separately, nine civilians were also brought home. This was the third stage of a combined prisoner exchange that began on 19 August.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported this, Censor.NET reports.
What is known
Those returning home include service members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, including the Navy, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, State Special Transport Service, Territorial Defence Forces, Special Operations Forces and Military Law Enforcement Service, as well as members of Ukraine’s National Guard and State Border Guard Service, and a State Emergency Service rescuer.
- Most of the defenders freed today were taken captive in 2022, including during the defence of Mariupol.
- Five survived the terrorist attack in Olenivka in the notorious "200" barracks.
- Another nine are seriously ill.
- Among those released today are 38 officers.
- The freed service members also include those taken captive in 2018 and 2020.
Overall, the service members returning home fought in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Chernihiv sectors. Defenders of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant are also among them.
A significant number of the defenders freed today were subjected to criminal prosecution by the aggressor state and, in violation of international law, sentenced on fabricated charges to various prison terms, including life imprisonment.
Rehabilitation and reintegration
The Coordination Headquarters added that all those released would undergo medical examinations, receive treatment, be provided with essential supplies for the initial period, and receive the payments due to them. They will also undergo rehabilitation and reintegration into society after prolonged isolation in Russian captivity.
"We express our gratitude to the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates. In particular, we thank everyone who contributed to the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old English teacher from Izium who was unlawfully convicted and tortured by the Russians.
We also thank all the government bodies and organisations involved for their coordinated efforts to free our citizens," the Coordination Headquarters added.
