182 Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity

On April 11, Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange that resulted in the return of 182 Ukrainians - 175 military and seven civilians.

According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the peculiarity of this exchange was that almost all of the released prisoners, both military and civilian, had been held captive since 2022.

They also include 25 officers whom Russia had previously categorically refused to exchange. More than half of the defenders released today were captured during the defense of Mariupol. Several members of the National Guard, who were captured during the occupation of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in the first days of the full-scale invasion, are also returning home. The youngest released is 22 years old, the oldest is 63 years old.

In general, the servicemen released today include representatives of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Airborne Forces, SSU, National Guard and State Border Guard Service.

During the last prisoner exchange with Russia in the winter, five Ukrainian defenders from Odesa region, who had spent almost four years in Russian captivity, returned home. On February 5, Ukraine and Russia conducted the first prisoner exchange since October. 157 Ukrainians returned home, while a similar number of occupants were sent to Russia. This is the 71st exchange to date. 150 soldiers and seven civilians returned home. 139 released Ukrainian citizens had been in Russian captivity since 2022.

Earlier, the human rights organization Prisoners' Defense of Ukraine said that the Russian Federation had included prisoners from Kherson and Mykolaiv regions in a large-scale prisoner exchange that took place from May 23 to 25. According to the organization, each side handed over 1,000 people: 880 military and 120 civilians. Also among those released are about 50 Ukrainians who were held in Russian prisons on various charges. Upon completion of their sentences, they were not deported, as provided by law, but left in temporary detention centers for migrants.

Кирило Бойко