Kyiv and Moscow swap prisoners on Ukraine’s Independence Day – images

Ukraine performed the 68th prisoner-of-war change with Russia on 24 August, Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Supply: assertion by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Coordination Headquarters for the Therapy of Prisoners of Conflict

Particulars: Underneath the Istanbul preparations, Ukrainian service members returned house and eight civilians had been freed as a part of the swap. Most had been held since 2022.

The launched fighters are representatives from practically all branches of Ukraine's defence forces: Air Assault, Air Drive, Navy, Territorial Defence, Nationwide Guard, and State Border Guard Service. All are privates or non-commissioned officers, and most had been held in Russian captivity for greater than three years.

A launched Ukrainian soldier Photograph: President's Workplace

The service members who’ve returned house defended town of Mariupol and the Chornobyl Nuclear Energy Plant and fought on the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kyiv and Sumy fronts.

Dmytro Khyliuk Photograph: President's Workplace

Two Ukrainian journalists had been additionally introduced again from captivity: Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush, who had been unlawfully held by the Russians since 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Among the many civilians launched are Serhii Kovalov, a medic from the Hospitallers volunteer battalion who saved the lives of defenders and civilians throughout the siege of Azovstal, and Volodymyr Mykolaienko, former mayor of Kherson, who refused to collaborate with the Russians.

Freed Ukrainian troopers Photograph: President's Workplace

The Ukrainian authorities thanked the United Arab Emirates for assist in arranging the discharge of civilian hostages.

Background:

• Reviews point out that Volodymyr Mykolaienko, the previous mayor of Kherson who was kidnapped by Russia in April 2022, has been free of Russian captivity.
• On 24 July, the heads of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations on the talks in Istanbul introduced an settlement to change over 1,200 prisoners of battle from all sides.

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