On Independence Day in Odesa, prisoners of war were remembered

On August 24, relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing persons and activists came to Pryvokzalna Square in Odesa to hold a weekly reminder rally.

People were holding photos of their sons, husbands, brothers and sisters, Novosti.LIVE reported.

Activists noted that prisoners of war and civilian hostages should not be forgotten. The organizer of the action, Victoria, emphasized that captivity is a daily horror for thousands of Ukrainians. According to her, more than 16,000 civilians are held in Russian prisons, and tens of thousands of soldiers are still missing.

At the rally, there were also words of support for those who continue to fight for Ukraine's independence. Lyudmyla Leyva Garasiya, whose son recently returned from captivity, reminded that freedom is not an abstract concept, but a concrete value for which Ukrainians pay the highest price.

At the end of June, Ukrainian defenders under the age of 25, as well as those who were wounded and suffered from health problems, were returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. Earlier, during the next stage of a large prisoner exchange, "wounded and seriously ill" prisoners returned home. The vast majority of the released defenders had been in captivity since 2022. Many of them were captured during the defense of Mariupol. Most of the released defenders are officers. Also, some of the liberated are under 25 years old.

Also in June, relatives of the missing soldiers again rallied in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Odesa, demanding that the organization's representatives take a more active part in bringing the defenders home. Relatives of the missing soldiers believe that the ICRC is not doing enough to do this and to search for their relatives.

Кирило Бойко