Ukrainian defenders return home: the toll of two years in Russian captivity

Another 100 Ukrainians are now back in Ukraine. Members of the National Guard, the Border Guard, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Most of them are Mariupol defenders - he shared via social media.

The Ukrainian president assures that further actions are being taken to free more people imprisoned in Russian camps. "They are all our people. Everyone is back in their homeland. We are tirelessly working for each person (kept captive - note by the editor) and we won't stop until we bring all of them back home "- stated Volodymyr Zelensky.

The previous prisoner exchange took place on January 31. At that point, 207 citizens detained by Russia were repatriated to Ukraine. Additionally, this group comprised both military personnel and civilians, captured by the Russian forces in 2022.

Igor Sushko, a Ukrainian military commentator residing in the USA, shared a photo of one of Mariupol's defenders who endured nearly two years in captivity. It would be more accurate to state that he was in a Russian concentration camp.

This is what Russian fascists do to people. The Ukrainian Mariupol war prisoner, Volodymyr Cema-Bursow, endured almost two years in Russian concentration camps before he was swapped last month. He lost around 38 kilograms - Igor Sushko reported on platform X (formerly Twitter).

Let's recall that in May 2022, after almost three months of valorous battles in the besieged stronghold at the Azovstal plants - situated in Mariupol, in the Donetsk region - Russian forces captured the city's defenders. Their struggle became emblematic of Ukrainian resistance, in both Kiev and Moscow.

The Russians vowed severe punishment for the soldiers from Mariupol, and it seems they were true to their word.