Today, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky officially announced the holding of a large-scale and extremely important exchange of prisoners of war. 160 Ukrainian defenders returned to their homeland . The main feature of this exchange is that all the liberated soldiers had been in cruel Russian captivity since 2022 – from the first months of the full-scale invasion. As reported by the analytical editorial office of the information portal 34.ua , this event has become one of the largest humanitarian successes of Ukraine in recent times.
The return of the Heroes is the result of the titanic work of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Office of the President, and Ukrainian special services with the active assistance of international mediators.
More than three years in captivity: Who returned home?
Among the 160 released defenders are representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the Navy, the State Border Service, and territorial defense. All of them held the defense in the hottest spots of 2022: during the heroic epic in Mariupol and at the Azovstal plant, in Luhansk, Donetsk regions, and in the southern direction.
Each of the returned soldiers spent more than three years in Russian prisons, demonstrating indomitable spirit and loyalty to the oath in conditions of complete isolation from the outside world.
Expert opinion on the meaning and specifics of the exchange
Mykhailo Zhyrokhov, military analyst and historian: “The fact that exactly 160 people returned home, and all of them had been in captivity since 2022, is a colossal breakthrough in the June 2026 negotiation process. The Russian side usually tries to keep the “old-timers” in captivity, especially the defenders of Mariupol and the Luhansk Front, as long as possible in order to exert psychological pressure on Ukrainian society. To extract such a number of people who have spent more than three years in captivity is the delicate and very exhausting work of our special services on a closed diplomatic track.”
Olena Borsuk, an expert in international humanitarian law: “The return of fighters who have been in captivity since 2022 imposes serious obligations on the state. From a legal point of view, each of these 160 defenders is a direct witness to the war crimes of the Russian Federation and violations of the Geneva Conventions, because the conditions of detention in Russian camps over these three years were critical. Now the priority task is to provide them with a full range of legal assistance, record testimony for international courts, and immediately restore all documents and social payments.”
First aid: medical care and rehabilitation
Immediately after crossing the border, all 160 liberated soldiers were sent to special medical centers for emergency care. The state reintegration program provides for a comprehensive approach to each defender:
Full medical screening: Most soldiers have signs of chronic exhaustion and the effects of untreated injuries, so medics are working in an intensified mode.
Deep psychological rehabilitation: protocols are designed specifically for the adaptation of military personnel who have been under severe psychological pressure for a long time.
Social package: defenders are provided with contact with their families, new clothes, payment cards, and full support in restoring their status.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the state remembers everyone who still remains in the hands of the occupiers, and the work will continue until all Ukrainians return home.