Ukraine returns 25 Ukrainians from captivity

15 January, 2025 Ambulances waiting for Ukrainian prisoners, January 15, 2025. Photo credits: Office of the President Ukraine has carried out the first exchange of prisoners of war in the new year, returning 25 Ukrainians from Russian captivity.

This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. "All repatriated servicemen are soldiers, sailors, and sergeants who defended Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Mariupol, including Azovstal," the headquarters communicated. The agency reported that they also managed to return wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Kursk region.

Soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, including the Territorial Defense, the Navy, and border guards of the State Border Guard Service are returning home. The youngest released is 24 years old, and the oldest is sixty. In addition to the military, one civilian who was captured by the Russian invaders in the Kyiv region and illegally detained was also returned.

Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity, January 15, 2025.

Photo credits: Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity, January 15, 2025. Photo credits: Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity, January 15, 2025. Photo credits: Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity, January 15, 2025.

Photo credits: Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

The wounded have, among other things, loss of vision, amputations, complex bullet wounds, and the effects of mine injuries. Their diseases include tuberculosis, cancer, and gangrene, which is a clear indication of the conditions our people have to live in. "These people have been through a lot without proper medical care and inhumane treatment in enemy captivity," representatives of the Coordination Center stated.

The headquarters assured that the returnees would receive proper treatment and rehabilitation. The previous exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia took place on December 30, when 189 Ukrainian citizens returned home. Then, 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.

It was reported that many of the liberated Ukrainian citizens had been in Russian captivity for more than two and a half years.