Porto-Franco City

On April 19, Ukraine welcomed back 277 of its defenders, including 246 who returned through a prisoner exchange, and another 31 who were freed outside this process.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelensky, Coordination Headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war.

Direct quote: "Today, 277 warriors returned home from Russian captivity.

These are servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard, State Special Transport Service, and border guards, who defended Mariupol and other areas in Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk."

Zelensky expressed gratitude to everyone involved in organizing the exchange, particularly mentioning the mediation of the United Arab Emirates.

According to the Coordination Headquarters, 246 servicemen were returned as part of the exchange, while 31 were liberated outside of this process.

Most of those freed are young people born after 2000, including a female soldier who had been in captivity since May 2022.

Among the 268 freed are enlisted personnel and sergeants, as well as 9 officers who were also returned.

This exchange is the fourth this year and the 63rd since the onset of the full-scale invasion.

Since the beginning of this year, 596 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity via exchanges, with 53 defenders freed outside of exchanges.

Overall, since March 2022, the Coordination Headquarters has liberated 4552 Ukrainian citizens through negotiations and exchanges, plus an additional 529 individuals have been freed from Russian captivity outside of exchanges.