Ukraine has returned 95 defenders from Russian captivity. These include soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and border guards.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this, as reported in his post on Telegram.
"I am grateful to our team involved in the exchanges and to the United Arab Emirates for mediating this release. No matter how difficult it is, we are searching for everyone who might be in captivity. We must bring everyone back," he stated.
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets added that a total of 3,405 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
"Next, the returned soldiers will eat, receive clean clothes, be examined by doctors, and get the necessary treatment and rehabilitation. We thank the UAE for their help in returning our soldiers. Ukraine once again confirms its commitment to bringing all its citizens back home and is working towards this goal," he emphasized.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that 49 soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine were freed from Russian captivity, including a participant of the "air bridge" who volunteered to fly a helicopter to Azovstal to assist the besieged units, and two from the Air Force.
Additionally, 21 National Guard members, 10 naval servicemen, seven from the Territorial Defense Forces, five border guards, two from the State Special Transport Service, and one defender from the community’s volunteer territorial formation were released.
All those freed this time are men: 88 privates and sergeants, and seven officers. Among those who gained freedom, 23 defended Mariupol (including thirteen defenders of Azovstal), 41 fought on the Donetsk front, nine each on the Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia fronts, and three each on the Kherson and Kharkiv fronts.
One of the freed sailors was in Kyiv region at the beginning of the invasion and immediately joined the defense of his village with the Makariv Territorial Defense. While providing humanitarian aid to the local community, he was captured by Russian soldiers from Buryatia.
Many Ukrainian soldiers returning suffer from the consequences of wounds and have chronic illnesses requiring long-term treatment. Most of them have been held captive by the aggressor country since 2022. Among those freed is also a defender who was considered missing.
