Ukraine managed to return 144 prisoners in the largest swap since the beginning of the war, including 95 defenders of the Azovstal plant who returned home.
This is reported by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
In general, the following soldiers were released:
- 59 fighters of the National Guard;
- 30 — Naval Forces;
- 28 — Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- 17 — State Border Guard Service of Ukraine;
- 9 — Territorial Defense Forces;
- 1 — National Police of Ukraine.
Of these, there are 23 officers and 69 sergeants and petty officers. Most of the liberated Ukrainians have serious injuries: gunshot and shrapnel wounds, blast injuries, burns, fractures, and limb amputations. All of them receive emergency medical and psychological assistance.
The coordination headquarters continues its work on returning all captured defenders, the report of the Main Directorate of Intelligence reads.
- Context. Recall that in May, Ukrainian defenders of Azovstal, including members of the Azov battalion, were taken to Russian-controlled territories. Some Russian officials have called for a trial and even the death penalty for them on charges of "terrorism."
- The so-called "authority" of the self-proclaimed "DPR" has repeatedly claimed its intention to hold an "international tribunal" over Ukrainian defenders.
- Earlier, the Russian authorities mentioned more than 1,900 soldiers from Azovstal in captivity, British intelligence estimated their number at 1,700.
- On June 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the defense of the last frontier of Mariupol, more than 2,500 defenders of Azovstal had been captured by the Russians.
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