The relatives of the prisoners, friends and comrades-in-arms come to the meeting of the released prisoners in advance. Some of them managed to talk to the hostages in captivity, while others only have information about the place of detention of their relatives from the Ukrainian military who were released from captivity earlier.
@lb.ua Великодній обмін полоненими. Незабутні моменти зустрічі. #полон #великдень #повернення #повернисьживим ♬ оригинальный звук - spotify.muz2025
The first to return from captivity are the severely wounded: with amputated limbs, some of them have lost their eyesight. Their relatives greet them with applause.
Then there are several more hours of waiting.
We meet a young woman. This is Olha Prylypaka. When she heard that her son was to be released from captivity today, she fainted, she said. She hadn't seen her son for three years.
"When the buses finally appear, carrying our guys, everyone starts waving their hands and flags.
Then there were many hugs – with relatives, with brothers-in-arms, with similarly liberated guys.
"My happiness, we have been waiting for you!" says a dark-haired woman, hugging a young soldier released from captivity today. It is the same Olha who meets her son, Oleksandr Pylypaka, who was captured in Mariupol in 2022.
She kisses him incessantly and hugs him. At the same time, she is dialing someone on the phone with one hand.
"My dear son, Sashenka," Olha repeats.
"Oleksandr, what do you think? How do you feel?" we ask.
"Unforgettable. I was in captivity for three years, what kind of feelings can I have," Oleksandr replies.
A second later, he shouts out to someone, looking at the screen of his smartphone:
"Alyonka, sister! Why are you crying? Everything is fine, I'm back! I'm alive and well! You're not a baby anymore...".
"You are my darling," says mother, still hugging him.
"We found him! We found him!" several women and girls shout. They rush to hug a tall, thin boy with a yellow and blue flag on his shoulders. "Your mummy has been waiting for you!" says one of them and starts to dial someone on the phone.
"I made it, mum. I made it..." says the young man who was released from captivity, looking at his smartphone. He moved away from the crowd. He speaks, barely holding back tears.
"Is dad alive? I'll be back soon..." he says.
"Mum, is dad alive? Is he okay?" the boy repeats. "My son, everything is fine," I hear back. And he could no longer hold back his tears.
After a while, one of the women who met this guy said: "We are waiting for our son. Unfortunately, ours has not returned. But the son of our friend's friend came back. We are standing in front of the Verkhovna Rada and waiting for our relatives there. And one of these women, the boy's mother, was standing with us. Unfortunately, she could not come here. But we are waiting for everyone...”
