"They fought for Bakhmut and performed a feat": Ukraine returns home from captivity 106 defenders

On May 25, as part of another prisoner exchange, Ukraine returned home 106 soldiers. All of the 8 officers and 98 soldiers and sergeants released from captivity had taken part in battles in the Bakhmut direction, and more than half of them had been reported missing.

This was reported by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak. It was also possible to repatriate the bodies of two dead foreigners and a Ukrainian woman.

"We are bringing home 106 of our men. These are soldiers from the Bakhmut direction - 8 officers and 98 soldiers and sergeants. They fought for Bakhmut and performed a feat that prevented the enemy from advancing further into the interior of our east. Each of them is a hero of our state. Among those being returned from captivity, many were considered missing. The relatives of these people have gone through a difficult stage," stressed the head of the Office of the President.

According to the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 68 of the 106 released soldiers were considered missing.

It also noted that some of the released servicemen have health problems.

"At least seven rescued defenders have various injuries: bullet and shrapnel wounds, burns and fractures, aggravated chronic diseases. The oldest of the released servicemen is already 59 years old, the youngest is 21 years old," the Coordinating Staff added.

A total of 2,430 people have been returned from Russian captivity during the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation. Among them are 139 civilians.

"The Coordinating Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, our whole team are fulfilling the president's tasks to bring everyone home as soon as possible. Vladimir Zelensky outlined this task as one of the key ones. Our real home is where people think of us. The Ukraine we are all building together is the place where a person, a citizen, is the highest value. The country, which thinks about people. Our society thinks in these very categories. All our people will be at home. We're working on that further. And each exchange brings us one step closer to that goal," Yermak added.

In the meantime, a video has surfaced online, supposedly from the last exchange.

At the time Kyiv announced the release of its Heroes, Russian media remained silent on the matter.

Recall that on May 6, Ukraine conducted another prisoner exchange: 45 Azovstal defenders returned home. Among them were 42 defenders and three defenders of Mariupol, 35 privates and sergeants, and 10 officers. The spouses who had already started a family at Azovstal, as well as a Mariupol defender, who had been captured twice by the Russians, were released.

Instead of its Heroes, Ukraine gave Russia three Russian pilots Maksim Kryshtop, Sergey Malov, and Sergey Kosyk, who had been captured in the first months of the full-scale invasion.

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