Ukraine returns 103 Ukrainian servicemen from Russian captivity, including 23 Azov defenders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced.

“Ours are at home. Another 103 soldiers were returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. 82 privates and sergeants. 21 officers,” the President wrote.

Among the released defenders are those from Kyiv, Donetsk, Mariupol and Azovstal, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, border guards and police officers.

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets noted that among the released are defenders of the 36th Marine Brigade, the National Guard, in particular, the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, border guards, and representatives of the Kraken special forces. There are also representatives of the National Police and the terrorist defense, the State Emergency Service, and units of the Armed Forces.

He added that the vast majority of those released were people who had been in captivity since the first days of the war.

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Also, the commander of the DIU's Kraken special unit, Kostiantyn Nemichev, said that two fighters of the Kraken unit had returned from Russian captivity. One of them was taken prisoner in May 2022, the other in July 2022. 

23 Azov fighters returned from captivity

The head of Azov's patronage service, Olena Tolkacheva, said that today 23 Azov soldiers who had been held in captivity for more than two years returned to Ukraine.

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Earlier, RIA Novosti wrote that Ukraine had returned 103 Russian prisoners of war captured in the Kursk region. Instead, 103 Ukrainian soldiers returned home.

Yuriy Mysiahin, a member of the Ukrainian parliament from the Servant of the People party, also reported that today's exchange included Azov servicemen.

• Ukraine has returned 49 Ukrainians from Russian captivity. Among them, in particular, are Azovstal defenders and Crimean Tatar Leniye Umerova.