A major prisoner-of-war exchange took place on Tuesday as 205 Ukrainian fighters captured by Russia returned to Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported this on social media, Ukrinform saw.
“Our people are free. Our people are home. Today, Ukraine has brought back 205 warriors. Young and older men from almost all types and branches of the Armed Forces. Defenders of Mariupol and the entire front line. They have been scattered across many Russian regions, imprisoned within a system whose only purpose was to torment them and destroy their humanity,” Zelensky said.
He thanked everyone who worked on the exchange effort, praising the United Arab Emirates for their mediation and assistance.
“I thank all those who do not stay indifferent and continue to speak out about Ukrainians in captivity. Every day, we fight for our people. We will do everything to bring each and every one of them home,” the president wrote in the caption to photos of released soldiers.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, on April 19, a group of 277 service members, defenders of Mariupol and other areas in Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions – were returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. Among the released are 268 privates and sergeants, as well as nine officers. Most of them are younger people, born after 2000.
