The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

130 Ukrainian POWs return home from Russian captivity on Orthodox Easter

by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 16, 2023 10:49 AM 1 min read
130 Ukrainian POWs returned home to Ukraine on April 16, 2023. (Photo: Andriy Yermak / Telegram)
This audio is created with AI assistance

One-hundred-thirty Ukrainian POWs have returned home from Russian captivity on Orthodox Easter, President's Office Head Andriy Yermak reported on April 16.

"The quintessence of the Easter holiday is hope," Yermak wrote. "This is exactly what the relatives of the prisoners, who had been waiting for them for so long, felt."

The freed prisoners included soldiers, navy personnel, State Transport Special Service employees, border guards, and national guardsmen, Yermak wrote.

They were captured during fighting near Soledar, Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.

On April 10, an additional 100 Ukrainians were freed during a prisoner exchange, including 80 men and 20 women. Nearly half of the released POWs had sustained serious injuries, were suffering from illnesses, or had been tortured.

What it’s like to know your loved ones are in Russian captivity
On the evening of Feb. 24, Nataliia Sivak received a terrifying message from her younger brother, Ukrainian soldier Yakiv Nehrii. “Tell everyone I love them very much,” the message read. “We are under heavy attack.” It was the last time she heard from him. When Russia launched its full-scale war

News Feed

8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.