"It's a miracle!" In the course of a new prisoner exchange, 23 "Azovites" returned to Ukraine

During the exchange of prisoners with Russia on September 14, 23 servicemen who were part of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine returned home. In total, Ukraine returned 103 servicemen as part of this exchange.

The defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal spent more than two years in captivity. This was reported by the head of Azov's patronage service, Olena Tolkacheva.

"It's a miracle! 23 Azov people are returning to their homeland today after more than two years of captivity!" she said in a statement.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the exchange of prisoners. The exchange brought back 82 privates and sergeants, as well as 21 officers. Among the released soldiers are members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, border guards, and police who defended Kyiv, Donetsk, Mariupol, and Azovstal, as well as Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on September 13, Ukraine and Russia conducted the 56th exchange of prisoners of war. As a result, 49 Ukrainians returned home, including 15 defenders of Azovstal. At the same time, 49 Russian soldiers who had surrendered in the Kursk region went to Russia.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, showed the emotions of our fellow citizens upon their return home. The Ombudsman emphasized that the health condition of the returnees is extremely serious, many of them have lost tens of kilograms of weight.

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