Today, on July 17, as part of the exchange of prisoners of war, 5 servicemen of the State Border Guard Service were returned, one of whom was captured in 2023 and had been missing until now. This was reported by the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Andriy Demchenko, UNN reports.
"Among the servicemen released from captivity today are 5 servicemen of the State Border Guard Service. These are 4 border guard detachments in which they served. Two soldiers were captured on the first and third day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They were held captive all this time. Three more were captured in 2023. One of them was still considered missing, and today it is good news that he is alive and he is coming home. The guys are overjoyed despite their condition. They are exhausted, and each of them has lost a lot of weight, and they have diseases. But all of this interrupts their joy of being on their native land and within their native walls," said Demchenko.
He added that the dismissed border guards are immediately sent to the SBGS medical facilities to be examined by doctors to determine their health status.
"Of course, this is a further process of treatment and rehabilitation, both in the institutions of the State Border Guard Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as other medical institutions, including abroad, where our partners offer to send our servicemen," added Demchenko.
According to him, rehabilitation lasts as long as necessary.
"It can be a month, it can be two months, it can be long-term rehabilitation," the SBGS spokesman said.
Recall
Another 95 Ukrainian defenders, including soldiers, members of the National Guard and border guards, have been released from Russian captivity thanks to the mediation efforts of the United Arab Emirates. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that we are looking for everyone who may be captured.
A representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Andriy Yusov, stated that the Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity have weight problems, complications from injuries that were not properly treated, and there is also a cancer patient and a tuberculosis patient. All of them are facing a long process of rehabilitation and recovery.