Ukraine returns 150 defenders from captivity

Ukraine has returned 150 defenders – soldiers, sergeants, and officers – from Russian captivity.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reported this.

The Navy soldiers who were captured in Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia region are returning home.

Soldiers of the Air Force, Air Assault and Ground Forces, National Guard of Ukraine, border guards, soldiers of the Territorial Defence Forces, and a police officer are returning home.

Some of the defenders had been in captivity for more than two years.

Representatives of the United Arab Emirates reportedly facilitated the exchange.

“I thank everyone who is working for the return of our people. I thank our partners, particularly the UAE, and those who support us on this path,” the President stated.

This is not the first exchange of prisoners of war this year. In January, Ukraine carried out its first prisoner exchange of the new year, returning 25 Ukrainians from Russian captivity.

All liberated servicemen are soldiers, sailors, and sergeants who defended Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Mariupol, including Azovstal.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that they also managed to return wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Kursk region.

The previous exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia took place on December 30, 2024, when 189 Ukrainian citizens returned home.

Among almost two hundred people, 87 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (17 of them were from the Special Forces), 43 servicemen of the National Guard, 33 border guards, and 24 navy servicemen returned from captivity.