We must and will return all our people from Russian captivity
Photo: Office of the President
We must and will return all our people from Russian captivity.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said this in his address on the occasion of the Day of Ukrainian Infantry.
According to the president, the infantry is the most numerous component of the Ground Forces.
Zelenky congratulates infantry service members, presenting state awards to fighters and honorable mentions to brigades for courage and bravery.
"The 10th separate mountain assault brigade, the 14th separate mechanized brigade, the 56th separate motorized infantry… Thank you, soldiers, for your performance! Thank you to everyone with the honor of serving in the Ukrainian infantry!" said the president.
Zelensky also reported that he handed over the "Golden Star" award to the relatives of Captain Valerii Hlebov, who recently died in battle. He was the commander of the motorized infantry company at the motorized infantry battalion of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade "Kholodny Yar."
"This chevron, the chevron of the Hero of Ukraine, was given to me by his daughter Viktoria. I will keep it. It is a great honor for me," the president said.
Then Zelensky reported the latest prisoner exchange, where another 45 Ukrainian soldiers returned home from Russian captivity – 42 men and three women – defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, National Guardsmen, 35 privates, and sergeants, ten officers.
"We must and will return all our people from Russian captivity! I thank our exchange team. Budanov, Yermak, Usov, Malyuk, Lubinets. Thanks, guys!" he said.
Reference
According to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights, 2,105 people have been exchanged so far in prisoner swaps. He added that the Ukrainian authorities have only approximate information on how many Ukrainian citizens are in captivity in Russia.
According to the lastest reports, about 3,400 Ukrainian servicemen are currently in captivity, Aliona Verbytska, the presidential commissioner for the rights of defenders of Ukraine, said in December 2022.
According to the head of Ukraine's defense intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine is negotiating with Russia to exchange prisoners "all for all."
