19 Ukrainians rescued from Russian captivity in second POW exchange this week

Denys Karlovskiy — Thursday, 21 April 2022, 15:12

Ukrainian authorities have conducted the second exchange of prisoners of war with Russia this week, bringing back 19 previously captured Ukrainian nationals, some of them wounded.

Source: Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk

Quote: "Another exchange of prisoners of war was conducted.

This time, among those freed, we have some wounded, and this is very important, since now they can receive comprehensive medical treatment and undergo rehabilitation.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank President Zelenskyy for his constant personal engagement with the prisoner exchange process."

Details: Ten among the 19 are military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including two officers.

The rest are civilians.

Background:

• On Tuesday, 19 April, the Ukrainian authorities conducted the fifth (in total) exchange of POWs, freeing 76 Ukrainians, including 60 military personnel.
• On 14 April, the fourth exchange took place in the form of "30 for 30". On 1 April, Ukraine conducted an exchange of "86 for 86" military personnel, which included 15 women.
• On 24 March, the Ukrainian authorities conducted an exchange of "10 for 10". In addition, 19 crew members of the rescue vessel "Sapfir", previously captured by the Russian forces, were freed. Earlier, Ukraine exchanged 9 Russian conscripts for the Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov, who had been kidnapped on 11 March.
• A number of exchanges took place upon the decision of the military leadership. Specifically, on 1 March, in the Sumy region, a captured Russian commander was exchanged for 5 members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces. On 15 April, in the Kherson region, the military leadership exchanged 4 Russian POWs for 5 Ukrainian defenders.
• The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly expressed their openness to any form of POW exchange or repatriation of the bodies of Russians killed in action in exchange for civilians and military personnel kept under siege in the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. Viktor Medvedchuk , a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and close friend of Putin’s, asked the Russian President to exchange him for the defenders and residents of Mariupol.