Ukraine brings Azovstal defenders from captivity back home

A large exchange of prisoners was conducted on Thursday, February 16. Ukraine brought back 101 citizens.

The head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, reported about this in his Telegram channel.

“We continue bringing Ukrainians back from captivity. Today a hundred of our warriors and one civilian are returning home,” Yermak wrote.

It is known, that many of those who have been released have injuries of varying severity.

According to the head of the President’s Office, among the released people are soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, border guards and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

94 of them are defenders of Mariupol, including 63 soldiers from Azovstal.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has brought home 1,863 people.

Previous exchange of prisoners

Russian mass media report that they managed to return 101 people to Russia under the exchange of prisoners.

As previously reported, on Saturday, February 4, a large exchange of prisoners took place: Ukraine managed to return 116 people.

It is noted that two of them are officers, another 114 are privates and sergeants.

In addition, the bodies of dead foreign volunteers Christopher Matthew Perry and Andrew Tobias Matthew were returned.

The body of the fallen volunteer soldier – Ukrainian Yevgeny Kulyk, who after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion returned to defend Ukraine and served in the French Foreign Legion, was also transferred to Ukraine.