270 Ukrainians return home in prisoner exchange

As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this on Facebook.

“270 of our people are home. A very important result. National Guard members, including Azov warriors, border guards, warriors of the Territorial Defense Forces, the Navy, the Land Forces, the Airborne Assault Forces, and the State Special Transport Service, as well as nine civilians, are returning home. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” Zelensky said.

According to him, most of those released are soldiers who defended Ukraine in Mariupol. Defenders from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Chernihiv fronts are also returning home. Many were illegally convicted in Russia. Among those returning are five people who had been considered killed in the Russian terrorist attack at the Olenivka detention facility in July 2022.

“We remember one and all and continue searching for everyone. I thank everyone who works to make these exchanges possible. And, of course, I am grateful to our warriors who are replenishing Ukraine’s prisoner exchange fund on the front so that we can bring our people home. Glory to Ukraine!” Zelensky emphasized.

As reported, on August 24, 10 Ukrainian servicemen returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity via Belarus as part of a special stage of the exchange. On August 19, 103 Ukrainian servicemen were released from Russian captivity. In August, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that a total of 9,716 Ukrainians had returned home from Russian captivity since February 24, 2022.