Ukraine returns home 100 prisoners of war

The head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak reported this. 

Among those who have returned home from captivity are the defenders of Mariupol, Azovstal plant and the town of Hostomel near Kyiv. Some people were seriously injured and have diseases.

“It was not an easy exchange, and I am grateful to the entire team, to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, for everyone doing what often seems impossible to many. They do their job, which is very important today. I am especially pleased to announce the great news about the exchange of relatives of people released from captivity. They have been waiting for their husbands, wives and parents at home for a long time,” Yermak wrote.

According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 80 Ukrainian defenders and 20 female defenders are returning home as a result of the exchange. Nine of them are officers, the rest are private and non-commissioned officers. The youngest of the liberated defenders is 19 years old.

“This time, we managed to liberate 24 National Guardsmen, 22 border guards, 22 representatives of the Navy, 21 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and 11 Territorial Defense fighters,” the statement said.

Those liberated from captivity took part in battles in the Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy directions. Among Ukrainian heroes are the defenders of Mariupol, Bakhmut and Hostomel, as well as the defenders of Chongar, Zmiyiny Island, Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Almost half of the released prisoners were seriously injured, ill or tortured.

• On April 10, 24 children from the Kherson region returned home. The young Ukrainians were interrogated by the Russian military for 13 hours and forced to appear in propaganda videos.