Ukraine Returns a Group of Seriously Ill Soldiers from Russian Captivity

Ukraine has returned a group of seriously ill servicemen from Russian captivity as part of a new round of exchanges under the Istanbul agreements.

The Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced the news.

On June 19, the next stage of a large exchange of prisoners in the category of “seriously ill and wounded” took place, thanks to which a group of defenders with injuries and significant health problems was released from Russian captivity.

The agency does not disclose the number of people released, only noting that they are representatives of the Navy, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, as well as the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard.

Ukrainians who fought in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv regions are returning home.

“Each of the defenders released today has severe medical diagnoses and illnesses as a result of their injuries and captivity. Many have significant weight loss, dystrophy, ulcers, vision problems, musculoskeletal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and digestive problems,” the Coordination Center reported.

They added that most of the released soldiers had been in captivity for more than 3 years. Many of them were captured during Mariupol’s defense.

The freed soldiers will undergo all necessary medical examinations, receive physical and psychological rehabilitation, as well as all due payments for the entire period of captivity.

The Coordination Headquarters reported that work on the return of the Ukrainian military continues, and the next stage of the prisoner exchange will take place in the near future.

On June 14, Ukraine returned wounded and seriously ill servicemen of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, as well as young people under the age of 25, from Russian captivity.

The exchange took place within the framework of the next stage of the “all for all” exchange for seriously wounded and seriously ill soldiers and youth under 25 years of age, which was agreed upon in Istanbul.

As a result of these negotiations, three more rounds of exchanges have already taken place – one for soldiers under the age of 25 (June 9) and two exchanges (June 10 and 12) with the wounded and seriously ill.