Photo: Coordination Headquarters
On Friday, 19 April, 277 Ukrainian servicemen returned to Ukraine, 246 of them as part of a regular prisoner exchange, and another 31 were released outside of formal exchanges. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
“Another 277 soldiers returned home from Russian captivity. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Special Transport Service and border guards. They defended Mariupol, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions,” Zelensky said.
The President expressed his gratitude to all those involved in organising the release and particularly noted the mediation of the United Arab Emirates, which played an important role in the negotiations.
According to the Coordination Centre, most of those released are young people born after 2000. Among them is a female soldier who had been held in captivity since May 2022. Of the 277 released, 268 are privates and non-commissioned officers, and 9 are officers.
This exchange was the fourth in 2025 and the 63rd since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In total, 596 Ukrainians were returned this year as part of exchanges and another 53 outside the official process.
Since March 2022, according to the headquarters, 4,552 Ukrainian citizens have been released as part of exchanges, and another 529 as a result of separate diplomatic and humanitarian operations.
Each return is the result of a long, difficult and often covert work of Ukraine’s military, diplomats, volunteers and partners. And each one is a step towards justice and national dignity.
