Forty-nine captive combatants are back in Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian combatants endured a month-long standoff at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, ultimately surrendering to Russian forces. Following this, they were apprehended as prisoners. Several of these veterans are now being released following over two years' confinement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the homecoming of 49 prisoners of war from Russia, posting photos of the released soldiers and personnel draped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags on Telegram.
Zelenskyy specified that the returned individuals were military personnel, national guardsmen, policemen, border guards, and civilians. Twenty-three of them were women. The Russian side did not disclose the number of prisoners handed over, but the Prisoner of War Coordination Headquarters reported an exchange, with no initial communiqué from Moscow.
The Azovstal plant in Mariupol, south-east Ukraine, was besieged by Russian forces in the early spring of 2022. Around 2,000 Ukrainian fighters defended the vast plant premises for nearly a month before Kyiv ordered a surrender for their survival.
Both sides swapped 115 prisoners in late August, under United Arab Emirates mediation. Since February 2022, when the conflict began, Ukraine and Russia have reportedly exchanged prisoners 56 times, with Moscow transferring 3,569 Ukrainians to Ukrainian custody.
Russian Forces in Kursk
Operational body bags of deceased soldiers are also routinely returned to their respective countries. Ukraine has been under intense military strain for weeks. In Donetsk's eastern Ukrainian region, the Russian army is advancing towards the strategically key city of Pokrovsk.
On Thursday, both sides declared that the Russian army initiated a counteroffensive against Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Russia's border region, where they had penetrated on August 6, claiming to have captured around 100 Russian villages and about 1,300 sq.km of Russian territory.
The surrendered Ukrainian combatants, now classified as prisoners, are being released after over two years of confinement. Following Zelenskyy's announcement, photos of the freed soldiers and personnel, adorned in Ukrainian flags, were shared on Telegram.
