#Prisoner Exchange

Returning from Russian captivity is a moment thousands of Ukrainian families wait for, longing to see their loved ones again. But captivity continues to take its toll even after freedom. The body and mind return scarred, and sometimes, the heart stops beating.

Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war can be counted in numbers: 212,947 documented war crimes, thousands of civilians killed, and millions displaced. Dive into the verified figures that define Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“The cell is cold, rats run around, the light is on constantly.” This is how a civilian journalist abducted in Russian-occupied Melitopol describes her detention. Like many other Ukrainian media workers, Yana has been reclassified by Russia as a “terrorist” and sentenced in a closed, staged trial, effectively erased from public view and from prisoner-exchange talks.