Maksym butkevych was among those released. He was a Ukrainian human-rights activist and serviceman who was captured in 2022 near Luhansk and sentenced to thirteen years in Russia. Vladyslav Andrianov was also released, a Azov fighter that survived the Olenivka Prison massacre and was facing a 25-year Russian sentence.
On 19 October, Ukraine successfully negotiated 95 of its defenders’ release from Russian captivity. Twenty of them faced life imprisonment in Russia as a result of their defense of Ukraine.
Inhumane treatment is reported by Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia, including beatings, starvation and electric shocks. Sexual violence and inhumane treatment are also reported to extract confessions or punish detainees. Russia ignores international humanitarian standards, leaving its prisoners traumatized and ill-health. Ukraine, on the other hand, treats Russian POWs in accordance with international standards.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that many of the released individuals had serious illnesses, severe injuries and significant weight loss as a result of torture and malnutrition while in Russian captivity.
95 Ukrainian defenders are released from Russian captivity as part of the latest prisoner swap.
The exchange included 48 defenders, including 28 who were sentenced to long-term prison and 20 to life imprisonment.
Dmytro Lubinets TG pic.twitter.com/p2OWZNi4vm– Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) October 18, 2024
According to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner, among those released were defenders from Mariupol and Azovstal as well as soldiers of various oblasts, including Donetsk and Luhansk as well as Kharkiv and Kyiv. Chernihiv and Kherson are also included.
34 fighters of the 12th Brigade of the National Guard Azov have returned home despite Russia’s refusal to exchange Azov soldiers it views as “nazis”, because they are symbols of Ukrainian independence and resistance since 2014.
Read More @ euromaidanpress.com