Ukraine returns 116 defenders in POW swap – Yermak

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak announced the return of 116 Ukrainian troops from Russian captivity, including defenders of the city of Mariupol, Donetsk region.

"Another big exchange of POWs. We managed to return 116 of our people, the defenders of Mariupol, Kherson partisans, snipers from the Bakhmut direction, and other heroes... Of these, two officers and 114 privates and sergeants," Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

According to him, 87 returned soldiers are from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two of which are from the Special Operations Forces. Eight fighters of the territorial defense, seven members of the National Guard of Ukraine, six from the National Police, five from the State Border Guard Service, two from the Naval Forces, and one representative of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine also returned.

In addition, the bodies of dead volunteers have returned. "We managed to return the bodies of the dead foreign volunteers – Christopher Matthew Parry and Andrew Tobias Matthew Bagshaw, as well as the body of the deceased volunteer soldier – a Ukrainian who served in the French Foreign Legion and after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion returned to defend Ukraine – Yevhen Kulik," Yermak wrote.

In turn, the Ministry of Defense of the aggressor state reported that 63 Russian soldiers were released from Ukrainian captivity after negotiations. "The group of released Russian servicemen includes individuals of the 'sensitive category' whose exchange was possible thanks to the mediation efforts of the leadership of the United Arab Emirates," the ministry said.

According to the report, at present, all Russian troops are currently in the territory of the Russian Federation.

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