Ukraine brings back 84 POWs including dozens of civilians
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) reacts after a swap, amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, June 19, 2025. (REUTERS)
KYIV - Ukraine brought home 84 prisoners of war in its latest exchange with Russia that included dozens of civilians, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday, at least one of whom had been held for more than a decade.
Thursday's swap included 33 soldiers and 51 civilians, according to the Ukrainian state committee in charge of POWs, which added that one of the prisoners had spent more than 4,000 days in captivity.
Another was a primary school teacher captured by Russian-backed separatists in 2019.
"Among the civilians released today are those who had been held by the Russians since 2014, 2016, and 2017," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X. "Among the military released today are the defenders of Mariupol."
Kyiv and Moscow have carried out regular swaps during the 3-1/2-year-old war despite no lulls in fighting, with Ukraine returning more than 5,000 POWs since the Kremlin's February 2022 invasion.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Aidan Lewis // REUTERS)
