Ukraine and Russia hold big prisoner swap: how many soldiers will return home
Ukraine has returned 205 soldiers from Russian captivity: the largest exchange has taken place.
A large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place on Tuesday, 6 May. 205 Ukrainian defenders managed to be released from captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel has reported.
According to the head of state, the Ukrainian prisoners were scattered in different regions of Russia.
We have returned them. I thank everyone who worked on this exchange. Special thanks to our partners, first of all to the United Arab Emirates, for mediation and assistance. Thank you to everyone who does not remain indifferent and continues to talk about our people in captivity," Zelensky said.
According to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, this is already the 64th exchange since the start of the full-scale invasion. A total of 4757 Ukrainians have returned from captivity during this time. Many of those released had been in detention since the first months of the war. Among them are seriously wounded and seriously ill.
According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, among those who returned are representatives of various units: the Navy and Air Force, Airborne Assault Troops, Territorial Defence Forces, the National Guard and the State Border Service.
Three officers and 202 soldiers and sergeants who fought in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy and Kiev returned home. Among them are participants in the defence of Mariupol.
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, more than 4,000 prisoners of war and civilians have been released from Russian captivity since the beginning of the war. The previous exchange took place on 19 April, on the eve of Easter, when 277 Ukrainians returned home.