Ukraine brings back from Russian captivity 49 POWs

Ukraine has returned 49 POWs from Russian captivity, including for the first time in a long time, the defenders of Azovstal. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on this. Among the rescued servicemen are 23 soldiers and sergeants, 19 officers.

They were defending our land in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson sectors.

8 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2 soldiers of the Territorial Defense Forces), two of the National Police, four border guards, and 13 sailors. For the first time in a long time, 15 servicemen of the Azov Brigade who defended Mariupol and Azovstal were released. The other seven are civilians.

Crimean Tatar activist Lenia Umierova, who was captured by the Russians while crossing the border of Georgia, is released. The Hero of Ukraine, Colonel of the Medical Service Viktor Ivchuk, who was in charge of the military hospital in Mariupol during the most difficult times, has also returned home. "This exchange is special, because for the first time in a long time, we managed to release our women from captivity: there are 23 of them among the released.

In particular, these are civilian Ukrainian women who were detained and illegally imprisoned by the Russians before the full-scale invasion," the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War noted. It was also possible to free women who had been subjected to inhumane treatment, in particular due to forced participation in the so-called "trial" of the defenders of Mariupol. The Coordination Headquarters noted that the Ukrainian government was grateful to the United Arab Emirates for its assistance in organizing the exchange of prisoners.

All those released from Russian captivity will undergo a medical examination, receive physical and psychological rehabilitation, all due payments for the entire period of captivity, and reintegrate into society.