Ukraine returns 115 defenders from Russian captivity (updated). PHOTOS
On 24 August, Independence Day, Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war. 115 Ukrainian soldiers returned home.
According to Censor.NET, this was announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Another 115 of our defenders returned home today. These are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy, and the State Border Guard Service. We remember each and every one of them. We are looking for them and making every effort to bring them back," he said.
The Head of State thanked each unit that replenishes our exchange fund.
"This brings the release of our military and civilians from Russian captivity closer. I am grateful to our team and partners, to the UAE, for our people coming home," the President added.
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, all those rescued from captivity are conscripts, including those who were captured in the first months of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Who was returned?
In addition, we managed to release nine illegally convicted Ukrainian soldiers, as well as sailors, three border guards, and 82 Mariupol defenders, fifty of whom were defending Azovstal.
Also returning home are six National Guardsmen from the garrison guarding the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, as well as servicemen who defended Kyiv, Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk regions.
The Ukrainian soldiers who have been freed from enemy captivity today also took part in heavy battles for Gostomel and the reserve command post of the General Staff in Kyiv region, and in Kherson region - for the Chonhar checkpoint on the administrative border with the temporarily occupied Crimea.
The Coordination Centre noted that many of the liberated Ukrainian servicemen have health problems as a result of their injuries and Russia's failure to comply with international humanitarian law in captivity. All of them will undergo a medical examination, receive the necessary treatment, psychological assistance, reintegrate into our society and receive their due payments.
It should be noted that this exchange was the first since the beginning of the Ukrainian military's offensive in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
