Kyiv and Moscow swap prisoners on Ukraine's Independence Day – photos
Ukraine conducted the 68th prisoner-of-war exchange with Russia on 24 August, Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Source: statement by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Details: Under the Istanbul arrangements, Ukrainian service members returned home and eight civilians were freed as part of the swap. Most had been held since 2022.
The released fighters are representatives from nearly all branches of Ukraine's defence forces: Air Assault, Air Force, Navy, Territorial Defence, National Guard, and State Border Guard Service. All are privates or non-commissioned officers, and most had been held in Russian captivity for more than three years.
The service members who have returned home defended the city of Mariupol and the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and fought on the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kyiv and Sumy fronts.
Two Ukrainian journalists were also brought back from captivity: Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush, who had been unlawfully held by the Russians since 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Among the civilians released are Serhii Kovalov, a medic from the Hospitallers volunteer battalion who saved the lives of defenders and civilians during the siege of Azovstal, and Volodymyr Mykolaienko, former mayor of Kherson, who refused to collaborate with the Russians.
The Ukrainian authorities thanked the United Arab Emirates for help in arranging the release of civilian hostages.
Background:
- Reports indicate that Volodymyr Mykolaienko, the former mayor of Kherson who was abducted by Russia in April 2022, has been freed from Russian captivity.
- On 24 July, the heads of the Ukrainian and Russian delegations at the talks in Istanbul announced an agreement to exchange over 1,200 prisoners of war from each side.
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