Ukraine Frees 185 Defenders in 75th POW Exchange - Russia Returns No Foreign Recruits Once Again

Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters, acting on the order of the President of Ukraine, has freed 185 Ukrainian military personnel from Russian captivity in the 75th prisoner of war exchange. One Ukrainian civilian, held by Russia since 2022, was also returned home.

Among those freed are servicemen from the Armed Forces of Ukraine representing the Navy, Ground Forces, Airborne Assault Forces, Territorial Defense, Special Operations Forces, Military Law Enforcement, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service.

More than half of those freed today were captured in 2022 — some during the defense of Mariupol and the Azovstal steel plant. Those returning home served on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv, and Kursk directions. The youngest freed defender is 26 years old, the oldest is 62. Two officers are among those released today.
Ukraine expresses gratitude to the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates for their facilitation of the exchange. All freed defenders will receive medical examination, treatment, necessary supplies, financial payments, and rehabilitation and reintegration support following their prolonged captivity.

Russia returns no foreign recruits - again

It is worth noting that during this exchange, no foreign nationals recruited by Russia were returned from captivity. Russia has shown no interest in repatriating its foreign recruits - people it often recruited through coercion or deception and treated as expendable material, sending them into notorious human wave assaults against Ukrainian positions.

Diplomatic pressure on the Russian government is the way to unlock the return of foreign recruits held in prisoner of war camps. To draw global attention to this issue, StopRussianRecruiters.org publishes profiles of foreign nationals captured in Ukraine.

If you or someone you know has been recruited into the Russian Armed Forces - explore a safe way out with the "I Want to Live" project.

Source: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War