- ENG.UATV.UA - A La Une - 04/Jul 11:21

Ukraine Frees Another Group of Defenders and Civilians from Captivity

On July 4, Ukraine and Russia conducted another round of prisoner exchanges. The released individuals include defenders under the age of 25, wounded and seriously ill soldiers, as well as civilians. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The government has not specified how many people were returned this time, but it is known that among them are servicemen from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, the State Special Transport Service, and civilians. The youngest released defender is only 20 years old, and the oldest is 59. According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, not only soldiers and sergeants were returned, but also officers. Among those freed today are defenders of Mariupol, who had been held captive since 2022. Most of the released individuals had been in captivity for over three years. Those returning home had defended Ukraine in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Kherson regions. This time, illegally convicted defenders and arbitrarily detained Ukrainian civilians were released. On June 2, following the second round of talks in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange all seriously wounded and gravely ill prisoners of war, as well as all military personnel aged 18 to 25. Both sides agreed to focus not on numbers but on specific categories of POWs under an "all for all" format. On June 9, Ukraine returned a group of defenders under the age of 25. The next day, the countries exchanged the first group of seriously wounded and ill prisoners. Since then, exchanges in these two categories have been taking place regularly, with the previous one occurring on June 26. The distinctive feature of this exchange is that it brought back defenders whom Russia had sentenced to long prison terms. This was reported by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. Among those who returned home are servicemen previously listed as missing in action. According to the Coordination Headquarters, the youngest released defender is 20 years old, while the oldest is 59. The exchange also included a group of defenders categorized as “wounded and seriously ill,” as well as those “under the age of 25.” Read also: Sybiha on New Russian Attack on Ukraine: Putin Shows His Contempt for Trump The post Ukraine Frees Another Group of Defenders and Civilians from Captivity appeared first on Freedom.