Ukraine held another prisoner exchange

Today, on Ukraine's Independence Day, another exchange of prisoners of war took place on behalf of the President of Ukraine.

Among the released soldiers are representatives of almost all defense forces: airborne, air, naval, as well as soldiers of the Territorial Defense Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Service.

All of the released defenders are privates and sergeants. Almost all of them spent more than three years in captivity.

The servicemen who returned today defended the city of Mariupol, the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, and Sumy regions, and guarded the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Those who fell into the hands of the enemy in the temporarily occupied territories and in Crimea will also see their relatives.

Finally, two Ukrainian journalists are free: Dmytro Khylyuk and Mark Kaliush. They were illegally detained by the occupiers in 2022 and 2023. Among the released civilians is also a medic Serhiy Kovalev from the Hospitallers battalion, who saved the lives of defenders and civilians during the siege of the Azovstal plant. The former mayor of Kherson, Volodymyr Mykolaenko, who did not cooperate with the occupiers, is also returning home.

The liberated Ukrainians will receive a full range of necessary medical care. Each of them will undergo a medical examination and appropriate treatment. They will also receive state payments, undergo rehabilitation and reintegration into society after prolonged isolation in Russian captivity.