Ukraine has successfully conducted a prisoner exchange with Russia, securing the return of 103 Ukrainian defenders, as announced by Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on 14 September.
The exchange included 82 privates and sergeants, along with 21 officers. The freed prisoners were defenders from various sectors of the front, including Kyiv Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, Donetsk’s Mariupol and its Azovstal, Luhansk Oblast, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv Oblast.
Among those released were soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade, National Guard, including the 12th Special Purpose Brigade “Azov”, border guards, and members of the “Kraken” special unit. The group also included members of the National Police, Territorial Defense Forces, State Emergency Service, and Armed Forces of Ukraine units.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, saying,
“Our people are home. We managed to return 103 more warriors to Ukraine from Russian captivity.”
Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Interior, reported that 51 of the freed prisoners were from the Ministry of Internal Affairs system, including 38 guardsmen, 8 border guards, 4 police officers, and one rescuer.
Notably, 23 soldiers from the Azov Brigade were among those released, as reported by Olena Tolkachova, head of the Azov patronage service. These soldiers had been in captivity for over two years. Russians were especially reluctant to swap Azov fighters in multiple previous exchanges, until yesterday and today.
Additionally, two fighters from the Main Intelligence Directorate’s (HUR) Kraken special unit were freed, according to the unit’s commander, Kostiantyn Nemichev. One of them had been captured in April 2022, and the other in August 2022.
Ombudsman Lubinets emphasized that the majority of those released had been held captive since the early days of the war. He noted that the returnees require serious rehabilitation, as their health has significantly deteriorated during their time in captivity.
This exchange marks the 57th prisoner swap since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, with a total of 3,672 Ukrainians returned home, as per Lubinets.
The previous large POW swap before today and yesterday’s exchanges occurred on 24 August, on Ukraine’s Independence Day. Then, Ukraine successfully negotiated the release of 115 prisoners of war.
Related:
- Ukraine returns 49 more defenders and civilians from Russian captivity
- Ukraine returns 115 prisoners of war on Independence Day, first exchange after Kursk incursion
- “War returns home,” says Latvian defense minister about Kursk incursion
- Ukraine returns home eight more children from Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast
