On Friday, June 26, a new prisoner exchange took place, bringing 160 Ukrainian soldiers home, including more than one hundred defenders of Mariupol. This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We continue bringing Ukrainians home from Russian captivity. Today, 160 soldiers were released from captivity. All of them had been in captivity since 2022,” he wrote.
He clarified that those freed include servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, the National Guard, and border guards who defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at Azovstal, as well as on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy directions.
“Thank you to our entire team working every day to bring our people back. Special gratitude to all our units on the front line who are replenishing the exchange fund for Ukraine and, through their courage, making it possible for us to bring people back. We remember everyone who is in captivity. We are verifying every name. We must bring everyone back — both military and civilians,” he added.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War provided details of the 76th exchange, noting that servicemen from the Ground Forces, Support Forces, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Forces, Medical Forces, and Navy were among those released.
It stated that 115 defenders of Mariupol were among the freed. In addition to soldiers and sergeants, 58 officers also returned. The youngest released defender is 26 years old, while the oldest is 66.
All released individuals will undergo medical examinations, receive necessary treatment, financial payments, documents, and begin rehabilitation.
The Coordination Headquarters also expressed gratitude to the United States and the United Arab Emirates for their mediation and assistance in organizing the exchange.
The Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets shared video showing the first moments of the freed defenders after returning to Ukrainian territory.
He noted that fighters of the Azov regiment are among those released, including officers.
“An important feature of this return is that almost 99% of those released were captured in 2022. They endured over four years in the harshest conditions of captivity,” he wrote.
