Some Ukraine’s defenders released from russian captivity were considered missing

As part of the Istanbul agreements, on June 12, Ukraine brought back another group of ukraine’s defenders from Russian captivity — those who had suffered severe injuries and are seriously ill.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Ombudsman’s Office, the State Border Guard Service

Zelensky’s direct quote:

“Today, soldiers of our army, National Guardsmen, and border guards are home. All of them require medical treatment, and they will certainly receive the necessary care. This is already the second stage of returning severely wounded and seriously ill soldiers.”

Details: Ukrainian servicemen have returned to their homeland, including those from the Armed Forces of Ukraine — specifically the Air Assault Forces, Navy, Air Force, Territorial Defense Forces, Security and Defense Forces — as well as the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard of Ukraine.

Among those released are defenders of Mariupol who had been in captivity for more than three years. All of the freed defenders are men, holding ranks in the enlisted and sergeant categories.

Some of the Ukrainian soldiers released on Thursday had previously been considered missing in action.

Overall, the returnees are Ukrainians who fought in the Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk sectors.

The released defenders will undergo necessary medical examinations, receive physical and psychological rehabilitation support, and be granted all the financial compensations due to them for the entire period of their captivity.

Background:

During negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers on a “6,000 for 6,000” basis. The Ukrainian and Russian delegations also agreed on a “all-for-all” exchange involving severely wounded personnel and young servicemen aged 18 to 25.

On June 9, the 66th prisoner exchange began. The first group of released servicemen under the age of 25 returned to Ukraine from Russia.

On June 10, Ukraine brought home a group of defenders from Russian captivity who had suffered serious injuries and faced major health issues.

On June 11, as part of repatriation efforts, the bodies of 1,212 fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to Ukraine.

The Coordination Headquarters emphasized that, for security reasons, the exact number of released individuals will be announced after the exchange process is fully completed.

Valentyna Romanenko

EMPR

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