Convicted Ukrainian soldier and human rights activist Butkevych discovered by chance he would be swapped

Released human rights defender and military officer Maksym Butkevych has shared that the news of his swap came as a surprise to him as he learned about it accidentally during a transfer from the prison.

Source: Butkevych in a comment to hromadske

Quote: "No [I didn’t know], it was unexpected. Yesterday morning, after the morning check, I was told that there would be a transfer in half an hour, but they didn’t say where. So I didn’t take many things because I was going 'to the transfer'; I wasn’t going for a prisoner swap. We learned about it by chance on the way. So it was a double surprise."

Details: Butkevych said he has not yet fully understood what happened, even though he was eagerly looking forward to coming back home.

He added that it is important for other sentenced prisoners of war to learn that such a swap has taken place and that it is generally possible to come back to Ukraine.

"I hope that now, since I left with one of my colleagues from a colony where there are over 40 convicted POWs on fabricated charges, it’s very important for them to know that we have left and it’s important for them to learn about this. Because we are the first POWs swapped from this Luhansk colony. I think it would be easier for them if they know that this is possible and that it is happening," Butkevych said.

He also thanked everyone who wrote him supportive letters and sent greetings.

"I was amazed by the level of support I received," he concluded.

For reference: Butkevych was captured by Russian forces in the summer of 2022 while fighting in Ukraine’s east as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The "court" of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic sentenced the human rights defender to 13 years in prison in March 2023. No information about Butkevych's whereabouts had been known to his lawyer or his parents since late August 2023. Later, it became known that he was in a colony in Krasnyi Luch in the Russian-occupied territory of Luhansk Oblast.

Background:

• On the evening of 18 October, it was reported that Maksym Butkevych had been released from Russian captivity.
• The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War later reported that it had carried out the 58th prisoner swap with Russia and 95 more Ukrainian defenders had come back home.

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