270 defenders have returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. Among them are fighters from the "Azov" unit of the National Guard, as well as border guards, territorial defense fighters, and servicemen of the Naval Forces, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, and the State Special Transport Service. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported this, according to UNN.
Details
According to Zelenskyy, most of them had been in captivity since 2022. Among them are defenders of Mariupol. One serviceman from the "Aidar" unit has returned home.
Defenders from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv directions are also returning. Many were unlawfully sentenced in russia. Among those returning are five people who had been considered dead during the Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka in July 2022
Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, noted: the youngest person released is 24 years old, and the oldest is 63.
One of those who returned has a birthday tomorrow — he will celebrate it on his native soil. The defender will turn 60
At the same time, Russia's Ministry of Defense also reported the return of 270 of its prisoners. They are currently in Belarusian territory.
We remind you
Seven civilians, including a 90-year-old woman and a mother with a child, have been returned to territory controlled by Ukraine. Another seven people traveled to russia to reunite with their families with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross.