As of October 2, 24 prisoner exchanges were completed, and 808 people were released from Russian captivity.

Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defense, reported about this.

She noted that people looking for their relatives should have clear information about where to seek help.

Maliar emphasized that at the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War was established, which is still dealing with this issue.

“Ukraine complies with all norms of the Geneva Conventions regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. All these measures are undertaken by the Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War, which unites over 10 state institutions and organizations,” Maliar said.

The Coordination Headquarters works on the basis of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence. The office address is Kyiv, 37 Spaska Street.

Consultation line: +38 (095) 412 74 24 (Monday-Friday 10:00 – 16:00);

Appointment: +38 (044) 425 12 09 (Monday-Friday 09:00 – 17:00).

As previously reported, on September 21, 2022, Ukraine conducted several exchanges with the Russian Federation and released a total of 215 prisoners of war, including the defenders of “Azovstal”.

The next exchange took place later, on September 29, and four military personnel (among them one woman) and two civilian women who helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine were returned to Ukraine.

Citizens of Ukraine are also returning home due to special operations.

Thus, the forces of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, the National Bureau of Investigation, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, and the National Police managed to return three servicemen of the marines brigade – two men and a woman – who were hiding in the occupied territory.

Security forces received information that they are in one of the occupied cities in the east. The men were wounded in March, which made the group unable to return to the territory controlled by Ukraine.

Thanks to local residents who were sharing food and medicine with the soldiers, they managed to hold out for 6 months.

After the special operation, all three are now in the controlled territory.