103 defenders of Ukraine returned from captivity. Most of them spent more than two years in captivity.
This was announced by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
All those released today are men, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War clarified. Of them, 82 are soldiers and sergeants, and 21 are officers. These are the defenders of Kyiv Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Mariupol and Azovstal, Luhansk Oblast, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv Oblast.
It was possible to return 38 National Guardsmen and 28 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 8 border guards, 4 policemen, 21 military sailors, 3 representatives of the State Special Transport Service and one of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
In particular, among those released are military personnel of 36 marine brigades, representatives of the special unit "Kraken" and the "Azov" brigade. The head of the "Azov" patronage service, Olena Tolkachova, says that 23 soldiers of the brigade have returned home.
The exchange took place through the mediation of the United Arab Emirates. Most of the prisoners have suffered serious injuries or wounds, have serious illnesses and need immediate medical attention.
The exchange took place in the "103 on 103" format. In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, it was possible to conduct 57 exchanges of prisoners of war and return 3,672 Ukrainians.
- The day before, on September 13, another exchange of prisoners from the Russian Federation took place. Then another 49 Ukrainian men and women returned home. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, as well as civilians. Among the returnees is Leniye Umyerova, a girl who was taken hostage by the Russians when she came to take care of her sick father, and Hero of Ukraine, military medic Viktor Ivchuk.
- On September 13, 15 soldiers of the "Azov" brigade were also returned from captivity — they spent more than two years in captivity.