Paramedic Kateryna Polishchuk, nom de guerre Ptashka (Birdie), who, along with more than 200 other Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol, was released from captivity, published her first post on Instagram.
"It was the beginning. And now I am home. And everything in the world must be experienced, and every finish is, in fact, a start. Every defender of Mariupol will return home. Every piece of Ukrainian land will be recaptured. We are back to fight on!" she said.
Kateryna thanked everyone for the greetings, warm words and for the will.
"We will lick our wounds and return to service. If I stop smiling, I will die. I am in Ukraine, we did it together. But this is just the beginning," she said.
Following a large exchange of prisoners, which took place in several stages and in different locations, 215 people were released from Russian captivity. These are officers, commanders, Heroes of Ukraine, defenders of Azovstal, including pregnant women soldiers.