Ukraine Secures Release of 84 Citizens From Russia With UAE Mediation, Some Detained Since 2014

On August 14, Ukraine carried out its 67th prisoner exchange, securing the release of 84 citizens—33 military personnel and 51 civilians—from Russian captivity, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.

This exchange was unique in that it brought home Ukrainians who had been detained in the temporarily occupied territories even before the start of the full-scale invasion and sentenced by occupation “courts” to lengthy prison terms of 10 to 18 years. One of the freed had endured 4,013 days in captivity, having been taken prisoner in Donetsk region back in 2014.

Those returning also include Ukrainians captured and sentenced between 2016 and 2021. Among them are three women from Donetsk and Luhansk regions—one a primary school teacher imprisoned in 2019. Another freed civilian is a 27-year-old man who was just 18 when the occupiers unlawfully deprived him of his freedom in 2016.

In addition to civilians, the exchange secured the release of defenders from the Mariupol garrison, servicemen of the Ukrainian Navy, and members of the State Border Guard Service—including 10 officers. Two pairs of brothers, held captive since the spring of 2022, were also among those freed.

Many of the released suffer from serious health problems and disabilities. The youngest is 26 years old, while the oldest is 74—seven of which he spent behind bars in a Russian prison.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for their role in facilitating the exchange, as well as to all state agencies whose efforts made it possible,” the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.

All those freed will receive comprehensive medical care, including examinations and treatment, be provided with essential supplies and due financial assistance, and undergo rehabilitation and reintegration after years of isolation in Russian captivity.

Earlier, a military court in Rostov sentenced Ukrainian Azov Brigade POW Vladyslav Shpak to 21 years in a maximum-security prison.

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