Azovstal defenders and more: Ukraine returns 45 defenders and two children from captivity. Photos and videos

On Thursday, 6 July, Ukraine managed to bring home 45 more people. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service and a civilian employee of Azovstal. In addition, on this day, two children aged 6 and 10, who had been illegally taken to Russia by the occupiers, were returned to Ukraine.

The exchanged servicemen include defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal, as well as soldiers from the Donetsk (including Bakhmut), Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv directions. This was announced by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak. "There are wounded soldiers," he wrote in his Telegram channel (to watch the video, scroll to the end).

The head of the OP noted that among the prisoners were two Ukrainian officers, 41 privates and sergeants.

"Each of them is a hero... We do not stop. All Ukrainians should be at home. They will be," Yermak wrote.

The DIU said that 43 servicemen and two civilians were released thanks to the work of the Coordination Headquarters. There were 28 representatives of the Armed Forces (including 10 from the terrorist defence), 10 from the National Guard, 4 from the border guards, and 1 from the navy.

The aggressor country, for its part, stated that 45 occupants had returned to its territory.

In cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, two illegally deported minors were also returned to Ukraine. Their mother, a combat medic, was released from captivity by the aggressor country in October last year.

Yermak said the children in question are 6-year-old Renat and 10-year-old Varvara. Their parents have been waiting for the return of their children, whom Russia illegally deported in an attempt to conceal the abduction.

Since 11 March 2022, 47 exchanges have taken place in the Coordination Centre. A total of 2576 people have been released from enemy captivity. "The work continues," the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War wrote.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- On 30 June, the Office of the Prosecutor General announced the first suspicions for the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia. The suspects are three people: a Russian politician (State Duma deputy) and two collaborators.

- Earlier, the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin acknowledged the deportation of Ukrainian children to the territory of the aggressor country. The dictator tried to justify the crime for which the court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for him by attempting to "save" minors "from the conflict zone".

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