Prisoners of war and civilians were returned on Ukraine’s Independence Day

On August 24, Ukraine and Russia conducted an exchange of prisoners of war. Eight Ukrainian civilians were also returned. Among those returning home were servicemen from the National Guard, State Border Guard Service, Armed Forces, including soldiers from the Territorial Defense Forces, Air Force, Airborne Forces, and Navy. Almost all of them had been in captivity for more than three years.

According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the released defenders protected the country in Mariupol, at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, as well as in the Sumy, Kyiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv oblasts.

Among the released civilians are former Kherson Mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, who was kidnapped by the Russians during the occupation of the city, illegally detained journalists Mark Kaliush and Dmytro Khilyuk, and Serhiy Kovalyov, a medic with the volunteer medical battalion ‘Hospitaliers,’ who rescued civilians and military personnel during the siege of Azovstal.

“The exchanges continue. And this is possible thanks to our soldiers, who are replenishing the exchange fund for Ukraine. Our team, which works every day. Our partners, who help. We thank the UAE for its assistance. Thank you to everyone whose work makes it possible for our people to return,” wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.