Ukraine releases another group of defenders and civilians from Russian captivity
On Friday, Ukraine and Russia carried out another round of prisoner exchanges, releasing Ukrainian defenders under 25 years old, seriously wounded and ill soldiers, and civilians, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported.
The exact number of individuals freed was not disclosed, but the group included soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard, State Border Guard Service, State Special Transport Service, and civilians.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated that the youngest released defender was 20 years old, and the oldest was 59. The group comprised soldiers, sergeants, and officers.
Among those freed were defenders of Mariupol, held in captivity since 2022, with most having been detained for over three years. The released individuals had fought on the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Kherson fronts.
This exchange also secured the release of illegally convicted defenders and civilians deprived of personal freedom.
The identities of the freed civilians were not disclosed, but hromadske confirmed that journalist Dmytro Khyliuk and former Kherson Mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko were not included in this exchange.
More about exchanges
Following the second round of negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, 2025, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange all seriously wounded and ill prisoners of war, as well as all soldiers aged 18 to 25.
The parties prioritized specific categories of prisoners for an “all-for-all” exchange format rather than focusing on numbers.
On June 9, Ukraine repatriated a group of defenders under 25. The next day, the first exchange of seriously wounded and ill prisoners occurred. Since then, exchanges in these categories have occurred regularly, with the previous one on June 26.
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