Two hundred and seventy Ukrainians are returning home from russian captivity: 261 service members and nine civilians. Among them are defenders who fought in the Kyiv direction.
This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, this is the third stage of a combined exchange that began on 19 August. Those freed include 38 officers and a State Emergency Service rescuer.
Who was thought to be dead
More than half of those freed were captured in 2022, including during the defence of Mariupol. Five of them survived the russian terrorist attack in Olenivka in July 2022, although they had been considered dead. Nine more are seriously ill.
Those returning fought in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Chernihiv directions, and some defended the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Some had been held captive since 2018 and 2020.
Photo: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
What awaits those freed
Many of those freed were illegally convicted in russia, some to life imprisonment. All of them will undergo medical checks, treatment and rehabilitation and will receive the payments they are entitled to.
Among the civilians freed is Stephen Gabbard, a 74-year-old English teacher from Izium whom the russians illegally convicted and tortured. The Coordination Headquarters thanked the United States and the United Arab Emirates for his release.
As of 23 October, communities in the Bucha district had not reported whether any of their residents were among those freed.
As a reminder, the first stage of this exchange took place on 19 August, when 103 defenders came home.
Nota bene
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