Over 100 Ukrainian soldiers return home following PoW exchange

Ukraine secured the release of 106 captured soldiers in a prisoner exchange with Russia on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said.

The soldiers, including eight officers, were captured fighting in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut that Russia says it has captured, but where Kyiv’s forces say they still have a small foothold.

“Every one of them is a hero of our state. Many of the ones we are returning from captivity were considered missing. The relatives of these people have gone through a difficult time,” said Andriy Yermak.

“All our people will return home. We are working on this… every exchange [of POWs] brings us closer to this goal,” he added.

Another exchange of prisoners of war took place at the front. 106 Ukrainians returned home.https://t.co/p9OpbWr0SKhttps://t.co/hURu2lCtUL pic.twitter.com/C2tX7aUgXx

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) May 25, 2023

There was no immediate information about the forces Russia received from Ukraine in exchange.

Ukrainian military intelligence says that 2,430 Ukrainians have been freed in prisoner swaps so far, including 139 civilians.

Back in early May, Kyiv hailed the return of 45 Azov battalion fighters captured during the battle for Mariupol. Those released included 42 men and three women.

Azov battalion fighters, who did much of the fighting in the failed defense of the port city of Mariupol, have been lionized as heroes by many Ukrainians but are widely vilified in Russia.