Ukraine and Russia held a new exchange of prisoners of war on Thursday, June 19. Most of the released Ukrainian soldiers had been in captivity since 2022, RBC-Ukraine reports.
The news was also confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on his official Telegram channel.
“Our people are returning home from Russian captivity. These are soldiers from the Armed Forces, the National Guard and the State Border Service. Most of them have been in captivity since 2022“, he wrote.
Among the returnees are defenders who fought in Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. They represent various structures of the Ukrainian forces: the Navy, the Airborne Forces, the Territorial Defense, the State Border Service and the National Guard.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that among the released there is a group of seriously ill soldiers. According to the headquarters, all of them have medical diagnoses acquired as a result of injuries and prolonged captivity.
“Many of them have severe weight loss, dystrophy, ulcers, vision impairment, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular and digestive problems“, the headquarters specified.
Most of the returned Ukrainian servicemen had been in captivity for more than three years. A significant part of them were captured during the defense of Mariupol. All those released are privates and non-commissioned officers.
Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that the oldest of those released was 63 years old.
Interior Minister Igor Klimenko added that among the returnees were sergeants and privates - border guards and national guardsmen - who participated in the fighting on four fronts. One of the released was captured in 2024.
The released will undergo stages of treatment, rehabilitation and recovery.
During the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on June 2, the sides reached an agreement on a large-scale exchange of prisoners. As part of the agreement, it was decided to return wounded, seriously ill soldiers, as well as all prisoners aged 18 to 25.
The first stages of the exchange took place on June 9, 10, 12 and 14, during which soldiers captured in 2022 were also released, including defenders of Mariupol.
In addition, a separate agreement was signed to exchange the bodies of dead soldiers according to the formula "6000 for 6000", which continued on June 11, 13 and 14. So far, over 3600 bodies of dead Ukrainians have been returned to the country.
For its part, the Russian Federation announced that it has almost no captured Russian soldiers in Ukraine. However, these claims were refuted by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of Ukraine.