One hundred and three Ukrainian service members have been freed from Russian captivity. Among them are members of the Armed Forces, the Navy, the Territorial Defence Forces, the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service.
The exchange was announced by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Who has come home
Those released include soldiers who defended Mariupol, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipro and Sumy directions. The youngest was born in 2000; the oldest is 59.
The overwhelming majority are privates and sergeants, with several officers among them. The Coordination Headquarters stresses that most of those returned have wounds and serious illnesses.
Why this exchange is called long-awaited
It came after a pause of almost two months — the previous one was at the end of June. This time the sides exchanged on a 103-for-103 basis.
The headquarters notes that this is only the first stage of the current exchange, carried out following negotiations and on the President's instruction. Separate thanks went to the United States and the United Arab Emirates for their part in bringing Ukrainians home.
What happens next
Everyone returned from captivity undergoes medical examination and rehabilitation and receives the payments due to them. Because of their condition, some will need lengthy treatment.
Bucha district is waiting for its own people too — the families of soldiers still held captive follow every exchange. The headquarters says the work continues until everyone comes home.
Nota bene
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