On the day of independence of Ukraine, another exchange of prisoners of prisoners with Russia took place

On the Independence Day of Ukraine, a exchange of prisoners with Russia was carried out on Sunday, in which they returned to the Ukrainian homeland, among others Journalist Dmytro Chyluk and former Mer of the City of Cherson Wołodymyr Mykolajenko, who did not want to cooperate with the Russian occupation authorities.

President Wołodymyr Zelnski informed about the exchange. The Ukrainian side did not state how many prisoners were listed. The Russians had previously reported at 146 on both sides.

“Journalist Dmytro Chyluk returns home, kidnapped in the Kiev region in March 2022. He is finally at home, in Ukraine,” wrote Zelanski in the Telegram messenger. (https://t.me/v_zelenskiy_official/15759)

The president said that soldiers of the Ukrainian army, national guard, border guards and civilians were listed. “Most of them have been imprisoned since 2022,” he emphasized.

Dmytro Chyluk is a journalist of the Private Information Agency Unian. He returned home after 3.5 years of captivity. At the beginning of March 2022, he was abducted with his own father from the house near Kiev. Since then, a banner has been hanging on the building of his agency in the center of Kiev with the postulate of releasing a reporter.

Wołodymyr Mykolajenka was also recovered from Russia. This former Mer Kersonia in south of Ukraine spent over three years in Russian captivity. He was placed on the lists of people to exchange, but he refused to return to the country for a seriously ill companion from a cell in a Russian prison – explained the head of the Administration of the President of Zełenski, Andrij Jermak.

The last exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia took place on August 14; Ukraine regained 84 soldiers and civilians. On July 23, 250 people were replaced. Also in July, Zelanski said that from the beginning of the full -size invasion of Russia in February 2022, Ukraine recovered almost 6,000. prisoners of war.

From Kiev Jarosław Junko (PAP)

JJK/ MMS/