75 Ukrainian prisoners brought back from Russian captivity
Ukraine brought back 75 people from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 31.
This includes service personnel of the Armed Forces and the National Guard, border guards, and four civilians.
The former captives were exchanged for 75 Russian soldiers, RIA Novosti claimed, citing the country's Defense Ministry.
"Throughout all of this time, we have not stopped working for a single day to bring everyone home from Russian captivity," Zelensky said on X.
"We remember about every person. We are making every effort to find each and every one of our people. I am grateful to the team responsible for the exchanges."
The released captives include 70 men and five women, including 19 defenders of Snake Island, 14 personnel who defended the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and 10 defenders of Mariupol, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported, confirming that they were released as part of an exchange.
This is the 52nd prisoner exchange since the outbreak of the full-scale war. As of May 31, 3,210 Ukrainian soldiers have been freed from Russian captivity, the headquarters said.
The headquarters thanked the United Arab Emirates for their role in facilitating the latest exchange.
Zelensky named a possible all-for-all prisoner of war (POW) exchange as one of the ideas to be discussed during the upcoming global peace summit in Switzerland in June.
The previously reported prisoner exchange occurred on Feb. 8, with 100 Ukrainian POWs freed from Russian captivity.
Before that, on Jan. 3, 230 prisoners were exchanged in the largest prisoner exchange since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Dmytro Basmat
