Today, 11 April, a prisoner exchange took place between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. A total of 175 Ukrainian servicemen and seven civilians are returning home. The youngest of those released is 22 years old, while the oldest is 63.
This was reported in a Telegram post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and later confirmed by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
“Our people are returning home. 175 military personnel — soldiers of the Armed Forces, National Guard members and border guards. Privates, sergeants and officers. And seven civilians,” the president wrote.
According to Zelenskyy, the servicemen had been defending Ukraine on various fronts, including in Mariupol, at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Sumy, Kyiv and Kursk directions. Some of them are wounded. Most have been in captivity since 2022.
“I thank every unit that contributes to our exchange fund and thereby brings the return of our people closer. It is a matter of principle for us to bring everyone back from Russian captivity. I thank everyone in the world who is helping us with this,” Zelenskyy said.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War noted that a distinctive feature of today’s exchange is that virtually all those released — both military personnel and civilians — had been held in captivity since 2022.
In particular, 25 officers were successfully freed, whom the Russian side had previously categorically refused to exchange.
More than half of those released today were captured during the defence of Mariupol. Several National Guard servicemen, taken prisoner during the occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the early days of the full-scale invasion, are also returning home.
The youngest of those released is 22 years old, while the oldest is 63.
