On New Year’s Eve, Ukraine returned 189 citizens from Russian captivity, one of the largest exchanges organized by the Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
In total, 3956 people have been released from captivity, including 1358 in 2024.
This is the eleventh exchange this year that has resulted in a release:
- 87 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 17 territorial defense soldiers
- 43 representatives of the National Guard
- 33 border guards;
- 24 navy.
Two civilians were also returned from captivity.
“In addition to Mariupol and Zmiinyi Island, the liberated defended Ukraine in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and the National Guard served to protect the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. We have also returned those who were captured in the Kursk region,” the Coordination Center said in a statement.
Many of those liberated had been held captive for more than two and a half years, returning with serious injuries, exacerbated chronic diseases and the consequences of mine-blast injuries.
This time, 173 privates and sergeants and 14 officers were released.
The largest exchange this year took place on January 3, when 230 Ukrainian defenders returned home.