Ukraine, Russia complete new POW exchange

On Thursday, June 26, another POW exchange took place. Most of the soldiers had been held captive in Russia since 2022.

It was announced by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on X.

POW exchange on June 26

Zelensky said that soldiers from the Armed Forces, National Guard, and State Border Service are returning home today. According to the President, most of them have been in captivity since 2022. 

"We are doing everything possible to find each person, to verify the information on every name. We must bring all our people home. I thank everyone who is helping us in this effort," the Head of State emphasized. 

At the same time, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that among the soldiers who returned from Russian captivity were defenders of Mariupol and officers. The youngest released soldier is 24 years old, and the oldest is 60. According to reports, some were listed as missing in action.

It is noted that the exchange took place with the participation of the Coordination Headquarters and the Ombudsman's Office, which monitored the observance of the rights of POWs.

As a reminder, according to Zelensky, most of the POWs, who were exchanged on Thursday, June 19, had been held captive since 2022.