100 soldiers, one civilian return from Russian captivity: Ukrainian security service shows video

The head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Andriy Yermak, wrote about this on Telegram.

“We continue to bring Ukrainians back from captivity. Today 100 of our soldiers and 1 civilian are going home. Among the released soldiers are the National Guardsmen, border guards, as well as the Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen. 94 of them are defenders of Mariupol, including 63 soldiers who fought at Azovstal. Their families have been waiting for them for so long,” he said. 

Yermak noted that many of the prisoners of war sustained injuries of varying severity.

“We continue to work, I thank the team and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. We will bring everyone home,” Andriy Yermak added. 

According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, most of the released prisoners are defenders of Mariupol. There are also Ukrainian defenders from the Kherson and Kyiv areas. Among others, 63 defenders of the Azovstal steel plant, defenders of Bucha, Kherson and Lyman returned.

“43 of the released prisoners belong to the Navy, 29 – to the State Border Guard Service, 12 – to the National Guard, 8 – to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and 5 – to the Territorial Defense. This time, all those released as a result of the exchange are privates and sergeants,” the headquarters added.

As for the civilian, it is the first deputy mayor of Enerhodar, Ivan Samoidiuk. He did not break down, refused to cooperate with the enemy and was abducted by the occupying Russian forces on March 19 last year at a checkpoint near Blahovishchenka. After 333 days of captivity, he is returning to his family and friends.

According to RIA Novosti, Russia has also returned 101 prisoners.