Ukraine gets back 106 POWs who fought in Bakhmut

Following a prisoner swap, Ukraine has brought back home 106 servicemen from the Bakhmut direction, Andrii Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, reports.

“These are servicemen [who fought in] the Bakhmut direction — eight officers and 98 soldiers and sergeants. They fought for Bakhmut and committed a heroic deed, not letting the enemy advance into our East. Every one of them is a hero of our state,” Yermak wrote.

The eldest of the returned servicemen is 59 years old, the youngest is 21.

According to Yermak, 68 soldiers who were presumed to be missing were returned to Ukraine in this instance.

The Ukrainian Coordination HQ on Prisoner Swap Issues reports that 98 of the prisoners serve in Ukraine’s Armed Forces: 21 of them are members of territorial defence. Furthermore, seven border guards and one soldier of the State Transport Special Service came back home.

“At least seven of the rescued defenders have injuries: bullet and shrapnel wounds, burns, and fractures, an exacerbation of chronic diseases. Moreover, three bodies were repatriated: two foreigners and one Ukrainian woman,” the HQ reports.

Russia’s Defence Ministry has not yet commented on the prisoner swap, however, Russian ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova says that on Russia’s side the prisoner exchange was carried out by PMC Wagner.

“We congratulate our boys on their return to the Homeland. We are wishing them and their family members all the best,” she wrote in a Telegram post.

There were no further details in her message.

The previous exchange took place on 6 May. Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that three pilots — servicemen of the Russian Air Force — had been brought back from Ukrainian captivity.

At the time, Yermak said that Ukraine had got back 45 defenders of the Azovstal steelworks — 42 men and three women.