Since March 2022, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War has successfully facilitated the release of 5,757 Ukrainian citizens through negotiations and exchanges, while an additional 536 Ukrainians have been returned outside of exchange agreements.
According to Ukrinform, the Coordination Headquarters reported this on Telegram.
“Today marks the final stage of a large-scale prisoner exchange under the ‘1000-for-1000’ format. On behalf of the President, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War has brought 303 Ukrainian soldiers back home,” the statement said.
According to the headquarters, the freed personnel include representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the Navy, Air Force, Air Assault Forces, and Special Forces. Additionally, members of the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service were among those freed.
All 303 defenders liberated today are men, comprising privates and sergeants.
They previously served in the Donetsk and Luhansk sectors, as well as in the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.
Among them, 70 defenders of Mariupol are finally returning home
“The three-day ‘1,000-for-1,000’ exchange marked the sixth prisoner swap this year and the 65th since the start of the full-scale invasion. In total, the Coordination Headquarters has facilitated the release of 5,757 Ukrainian citizens through negotiations and exchanges since March 2022, while an additional 536 Ukrainians have been retuned outside formal exchanges,” the Coordination HQ said.
The freed defenders will receive necessary medical care and rehabilitation, along with all due payments for their time in captivity and a one-time financial assistance package. Efforts will also be made to support their reintegration into society following their prolonged detention in Russian captivity.
The Coordination HQ reaffirmed its continued efforts to identify and ensure the return of all Ukrainian prisoners of war.
As reported by Ukrinform, on May 23, 390 prisoners returned to Ukraine as part of the “1,000 for 1,000” exchange agreement reached between Kyiv and Moscow during talks in Istanbul on May 16.
On May 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that another 307 Ukrainian soldiers had returned from Russian captivity.
On Sunday, May 25, as part of the third phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange, Ukraine returned 303 soldiers from Russian captivity.
Source: Since March 2022, Coordination HQ facilitated release of 6,293 Ukrainian citizens from captivity
