2,828 Ukrainians released from Russian captivity during full-scale war – intelligence

He praised the role of the UAE in the current large exchange and recalled that previous exchanges involved countries such as Turkey, Poland, and Saudi Arabia.

Yusov said Ukraine is ready to use all tools to free Ukrainian citizens, including international mediation.

"This is the largest exchange that took place during the full-scale invasion. These are exhausted people, people who have suffered a lot. But they endured everything, they survived and they are finally home. These are tears and trembling voices during the first calls to their families. This is very important because everyone has to come home. There is still a lot of work to be done."

On January 3, 230 Ukrainian military and civilians were returned from Russian captivity, which is is the largest exchange since the full-scale war.

Soldiers, sergeants, and officers are among released, being from the regular units, National Guard, Navy, border guards and Azovstal. Ukraine also returned six civilians who had been illegally deprived of their liberty.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets emphasized that 2024 marked the start of 49 prisoner of war exchanges.

The last prisoner exchange took place in August 2023, when 22 Ukrainian servicemen returned home.

On November 17, Ukrainian reintegration ministry stated that 4,337 Ukrainians were held captive, including 3574 troops and 763 civilians.