How many Ukrainians have returned from Russian captivity: the number is known (video)
3 January 16:06
In 2024, Ukraine managed to bring home 1358 military and civilians from Russian captivity. This figure was announced by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“These people have different fates, but the same joy – to be at home. Each and every one of them, for whom a large team of Ukraine worked,” the president said on his official Telegram channel.
It should be noted that on December 30, 2024 , one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the full-scale invasion took place. In total, 3956 people have already returned from Russian captivity as part of the work of the Coordination Headquarters on behalf of the President of Ukraine, including 1358 in 2024.
Who returned from Russian captivity on December 30:
- 87 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (17 of them are from the TRO);
- 43 soldiers of the National Guard;
- 33 servicemen of the State Border Guard Service;
- 24 soldiers of the Navy;
- 2 civilians.
In total, 173 privates and sergeants and 14 officers were dismissed.
In addition to Mariupol and Zmiinyi Island, the released soldiers defended Ukraine in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson sectors, and the National Guard served to protect the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Those who were captured in the Kursk region (Russia) were also returned to Ukraine.
Many Ukrainian citizens were held in Russian captivity for more than two and a half years. The defenders suffer from acute chronic illnesses, the consequences of mine-blast injuries, and severe wounds.
We would like to remind you that the largest homecoming of Ukrainian soldiers took place on January 3, 2024. Back then, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War managed to bring home 230 people.
How many Ukrainians remain in Russian captivity
In November 2024, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights , Dmytro Lubinets, stated that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, according to official data,“tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens are currently in Russian captivity.” This includes both military and civilians.
How many Ukrainians died in Russian captivity
According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as of October 2024, at least 177 Ukrainians have died in Russian captivity since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Due to the lack of international oversight, the actual number of deaths is likely much higher, as not all bodies are returned, and many are not even confirmed by Russia as prisoners of war. The more time they spend in Russian prisons, the closer they are to death,” said Victoria Tsymbalyuk, a representative of the Defense Ministry’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War .
