Another 49 citizens of Ukraine returned from Russian captivity. About this reported President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in his Telegram channel.
“49 Ukrainian men and women are at home. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the National Police, the State Border Service, as well as our civilians. In particular, Leniye Umyerova is a girl who was taken hostage by the Russians when she came to take care of her sick father. It was also possible to free some of the defenders of “Azovstal”. Hero of Ukraine, military medic Viktor Ivchuk is also at home., – said Zelensky.
He expressed his gratitude to the entire team working on the return of captured Ukrainians, and also drew attention to the contribution of each unit, which helps replenish the country’s “exchange fund”.
“All our soldiers who capture the Russian occupier, all our services who neutralize Russian saboteurs and collaborators, bring the release of our people closer. We must return home all our soldiers and civilians.”, – the president said.
The story of Lenia Umerova begins in December 2022. A Crimean Tatar girl tried to reach occupied Crimea from Kyiv to help her father, who is suffering from cancer. She was detained by the Russians after crossing the Georgian-Russian border, accused of violating the rules of the regime zone.
On September 11, 2024, President Zelenskyy once again called on the international community to put pressure on Russia in order to achieve the exchange of detainees based on the principle of “all for all”. He noted that Ukraine actively cooperates with the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Azerbaijan and other countries to liberate Crimean Tatars from Russian prisons.
According to Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, the state of health of many of those who returned from captivity is very difficult – people have lost tens of kilograms of weight.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression, Ukraine has already returned 3,569 of its citizens from captivity. On September 13, 2024, the 56th exchange of prisoners of war took place.
