President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak said on Dec. 14 that Russia had released 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
According to Yermak, they are service people of different ranks from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, taken captive in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast. Some of them were taken captive near Bakhmut, which for months has been the place of the heaviest fighting on the eastern front.
Ukraine also recovered four dead bodies, but Yermak didn’t specify who they belonged to. He also didn't reveal how many prisoners Ukraine liberated in exchange.
Suedi Murekezi, a U.S. citizen, was also liberated in the Dec. 14 prisoner exchange with Russia. (Photo shared by Andriy Yermak)
U.S. citizen Suedi Murekezi, 35, who was detained by Russian forces in Kherson in June, where he had been living for more than three years, was also liberated in the swap.
He was released by the Kremlin proxies in Donetsk in October but couldn’t leave Donetsk because he did not have any documents. He said he didn’t fight but was volunteering to help civilians in Kherson, according to the Guardian.