Another 75 people have been returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity, including the defenders of Mariupol. Photos and videos

On May 31, Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war. Seventy-one soldiers of the Defense Forces and four civilian women returned home from enemy captivity.

This was announced by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Among those released are soldiers from the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and four civilians, including the defenders of Mariupol and Zmiinyi Island and the soldiers who guarded the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.

"All this time, we have not stopped working for a day to bring home every one of the Russian captives. And today we have an important result: 75 more of our people have returned to Ukraine. Soldiers of the Armed Forces and the National Guard, border guards, four civilians – all of them are already on their native land," the Head of State noted.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War clarified that there are five women among the liberated defenders. Six of the liberated soldiers are officers, 65 are privates and sergeants.

At least a third of the rescued have been injured, seriously ill, or disabled.

"This time 37 representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were liberated from captivity, including 13 servicemen of the Navy and two representatives of the Air Force. Also, 21 National Guardsmen were liberated from captivity. Seven border guards, six terrorists, and four Ukrainian civilians are returning home," the Coordination Headquarters noted.

In particular, 19 defenders of Zmiinyi Island, 14 servicemen who guarded the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and 10 defenders of Mariupol were returned to their native land. Among the liberated soldiers are those who were captured in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy.

According to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, 29 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine were released as part of the exchange: 21 National Guardsmen, 7 border guards, and a police officer.

"The returnees include the defenders of Mariupol, Zmiine, Hostomel and 14 defenders of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant," the minister said.

According to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, some of the prisoners were held in captivity almost from the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

"The defenders, who heard the voices of their relatives for the first time in a long time, were overwhelmed with emotions. The families also reacted to the calls with no less emotion, as some of them have not heard their relatives' voices since the beginning of the Russian invasion of our land. Next, the returned soldiers will have a warm dinner, clean clothes, medical examination, restoration of documents, bank cards, and rehabilitation," emphasized Lubinets.

Including the prisoners released in the May 31 exchange, Ukraine has already returned 3210 Ukrainians who were held in enemy captivity during the full-scale war with Russia, the ombudsman added.

The President added: the state is doing everything possible to ensure that every Ukrainian who is currently in captivity returns home.

"We remember everyone. We are making every effort to find each and every one of them. I am grateful to the team that is working on the exchanges!" Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine managed to return the prisoners from Russian captivity after a long break. The previous exchange of prisoners took place on February 8, 2024: 100 Ukrainian soldiers from various branches of the armed forces returned home.

Earlier, Russian propagandists reported a 75-for-75 exchange of prisoners. They also noted that the exchange was mediated by the UAE. This information was later confirmed by the Coordination Center.

Just the day before, on May 30, Russia announced the suspension of the prisoner exchange with Ukraine. At the same time, the aggressor state accused Ukraine of its unwillingness to return its military personnel by exchanging them for captured Ukrainians. The occupiers said that Kyiv was allegedly making "far-fetched demands" without specifying what exactly they were talking about.

Reacting to the statement of Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said that these accusations are not true, and Russia stubbornly rejects all Ukraine's proposals for prisoner exchanges.

Meanwhile, on the afternoon of May 31, it became known that Ukraine managed to return the bodies of 212 fallen defenders. They were killed in the battles in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of our country.

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