Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday welcomed the release of another 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian authorities and indicated that 2,526 Ukrainian soldiers captured by the enemy had been returned since the start of the conflict.
“Yesterday (Sunday) we recovered another 95 of our boys, our fighters, who were in captivity,” Zelensky said in a post on his Telegram digital platform account.
“In total, since February 24 last year, we have already obtained the return of 2,526 Ukrainians,” added Ukraine’s head of state, thanking “the whole team” of national negotiators that made possible the prisoner exchange with Russia.
Zelensky also referred to the Ukrainian soldiers fighting at the front, whom he thanked for contributing to the “exchange fund”, by capturing Russian soldiers who are then exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
“Each time we bring our people back from captivity in Russia, we remember our fundamental goal: we will not abandon any of our own”emphasized the Ukrainian president.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14.7 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries -, according to the latest data from the UN. which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and to impose on Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the start of the war, which today has entered its 474th day, 8,983 civilian deaths and 15,442 wounded, underlining that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
