On July 17, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced the return of Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity.
Points of attention
- Ukraine successfully freed 95 military personnel from Russian captivity, including soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard.
- The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressed his gratitude to the team carrying out the exchange of war prisoners and the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.
- The efforts of the president and his team are providing an important result, allowing Ukrainian citizens who are in captivity to be returned home.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured about the intention to continue the search for every person who may be in captivity to return them to their native land.
95 Ukrainian soldiers returned from Russia's captivity
95 Ukrainians who were in Russian captivity returned home.
We continue to bring our people home. Another 95 defenders were released from Russian captivity. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and border guards.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
Thanks to our exchange team and the United Arab Emirates for mediating this release. No matter how difficult it may be, we are looking for everyone who may be in captivity. We have to return everyone, Zelenskyy assured.
Details of POW exchange on July 17
Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (CHTPW) reported the release of 95 Ukrainian service members from hostile captivity.
Among them are 49 soldiers of the Armed Forces (including a participant in the Air Bridge, who voluntarily voted on a screw fly to Azovstal to help the units blocked there, and two of the air forces), 21 National Guards, ten military sailors, seven from Territorial Defence Forces, five border guards, two from the State Special Transport Service and one defender on the volunteer formation of the territorial community.
All released this time are men: 88 privates, sergeants, and seven officers.
Among our boys who finally received freedom, 23 people were defended by Mariupol (of which thirteen — were Azovstal defenders), 41 fought in the Donetsk direction, nine in Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia, and three — in Kherson and Kharkiv. One of the released sailors at the time of the invasion was in the Kyiv region and immediately joined the defence of his village from the occupiers as part of the Makariv community Territorial Defence. During the provision of humanitarian assistance to the community residents, he was captured by Russian servicemen from Buryatia.
Many Ukrainian fighters return from the effects of injuries and have chronic diseases that require long-term treatment. Most of them have been captured by aggressor countries since 2022. There is also a defender among the released, which was considered missing.
This is the 54th exchange of prisoners since the beginning of a full-scale invasion. In total, 3405 Ukrainian war prisoners were returned home.
The exchange of war prisoners between Ukraine and Russia on May 31
On May 31, Ukraine and Russia conducted a new war prisoners exchange after a long pause, as announced by the head of state, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to the president, all this time, he and his team did not stop working for a single day to bring home each and every one of the Russian captives.
Today we have an important result: another 75 of our people have returned to Ukraine. Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard, border guards, four civilians — all of them are already in their native land, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He also emphasised that Ukraine remembers each of its citizens who are still in captivity.
