277 Ukrainian defenders freed in prisoner exchange ahead of Easter

On April 19, the day before Orthodox Easter, Ukraine secured the release of 277 defenders held in Russian captivity through a prisoner exchange agreement with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the news on social media, thanking all those involved in making the exchange possible, with special gratitude extended to the United Arab Emirates for their mediation efforts.

The released prisoners include soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Special Transport Service, and the Border Guard. Many of them had been captured while defending key regions, including Mariupol, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk. Among those freed was a female soldier who had been in Russian captivity since May 2022. According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the majority of those released were young individuals born after the year 2000.

“This is a truly joyful moment for hundreds of families across Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, a total of 4,552 people—both military personnel and civilians—have been brought home. We remember everyone still in captivity. We will continue to search and bring them back,” Zelenskyy wrote.