Russian captivity

Ukrainian POWs from Mariupol and beyond return home

A new prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place on Friday, June 20, with dozens of Ukrainian defenders returning home after more than two years in captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced.

20 June 2025, 02:52 PM

Soldier celebrating his birthday returns home after being freed from Russian captivity

Among the Ukrainian defenders who returned to their homeland from Russian captivity is a fighter whose birthday is today, as announced by Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, who also published footage of the return on June 19.

19 June 2025, 06:59 PM

Photos of Ukrainian defenders show torture after captivity

Photos of Ukrainian defenders who returned from Russian captivity are circulating online, with the first showing the men before torture and the second after. The photos were published on Facebook on June 16.

16 June 2025, 03:46 PM

Ukraine begins care for soldier with 'Glory to Russia' burned onto his body after captivity

Ukraine has begun treating the scars of a soldier, who returned from Russian captivity with the phrase "Glory to Russia" burned onto his body, Oleksandr Turkevych, a doctor at the Neopalymi rehabilitation program, said on Facebook on June 15.

16 June 2025, 11:39 AM

Freed today: marines, paratroopers and Mariupol defenders return from captivity

Ukraine returned a group of servicemen under the age of 25, most held in Russian captivity since 2022, as part of a new prisoner exchange, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on June 9.

9 June 2025, 06:48 PM

More than half of Azovstal’s defenders now liberated from Russian captivity

1,279 Ukrainian soldiers, who defended Azovstal in Mariupol in 2022 have been released from Russian captivity, 455 of them are from the Azov Brigade, HUR representative Andrii Yusov said in an interview with Radio Liberty on May 28.

29 May 2025, 09:14 AM

Ukrainian mother gets update on captive son via exchanged soldier

A Ukrainian mother learned her captive son is alive and healthy from a freed prisoner of war during the May 6 exchange, a moment captured in a poignant video released by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Instagram.

7 May 2025, 05:15 PM

Ukraine releases touching video of May 6 POW exchange

Ukraine returned 14 border guards home in the May 6 prisoner-of-war (POW) exchange, the State Border Guard Service reported on May 7.

7 May 2025, 02:38 PM

Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces return of 205 POWs from Russia

Ukraine has secured the return of 205 service members from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on May 6.

6 May 2025, 05:55 PM

EU condemns killing of journalist Victoria Roshchyna in Russian captivity

The murder of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in Russian captivity is further evidence of Russia’s inhuman cruelty toward Ukrainians, European Commission spokeswoman Anita Gipper said on April 30.

30 April 2025, 05:09 PM

Gender advisor outlines difficulties women face in Ukrainian military

Russia’s full-scale invasion has brought new challenges for women serving in the military, Oksana Hryhorieva, gender advisor to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told NV on April 29.

29 April 2025, 05:01 PM

Ukraine returns body of journalist Victoria Roshchyna, tortured in Russian captivity

The body of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died after enduring torture in Russian captivity, was returned to Ukraine in late February, Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko confirmed in an interview with Censor.net on April 24.

24 April 2025, 07:09 PM

Ukrainian soldier shares shocking weight loss after nearly three years in Russian captivity

Ukrainian defender Ivan Petrovskyi returned from Russian captivity, where he spent 1037 days, on March 19 as part of one of the largest prisoner exchanges to date, he wrote on Instagram and showed his photo on March 23.

24 March 2025, 02:38 PM

Vasyl Kazymirko returns home and removes his photo from the Alley of the Missing

58-year-old defender Vasyl Kazymirko, who was held captive by Russian invaders for nearly three years, returned to Tlumach, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, where he personally removed his photo from the Alley of Missing Soldiers, according to Lesya Grabovetska, head of the veterans' affairs department of the Tlumach city council on March 6.

6 March 2025, 07:38 PM

Three Crimean political prisoners released after 9 years

After nine years in a Russian prison, three Crimean political prisoners from the "first Bakhchysarai group" case—Remzi Memetov, Zevri Abseitov, and Rustem Abiltarov—have been released, the human rights organization Crimean Solidarity reported on Facebook on Feb. 11.

11 February 2025, 06:58 PM

Ukrainian defender reunites with family after 15 months in Russian captivity

After a month of treatment, Ukrainian border guard Denys Noha, recently freed from Russian captivity, reunited with his parents and friends, the Southern Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service reported on Facebook on Feb. 6.

6 February 2025, 06:51 PM

Ukrainian Defense Ministry shares details of soldiers' release from Russian captivity — photos

As part of the 61st prisoner exchange, 150 Ukrainian servicemen, many seriously ill and wounded, returned from Russia after being held for up to two and a half years, the Main Intelligence Directorate said on Feb. 5.

5 February 2025, 07:15 PM

Families rally in Kyiv urging release of Ukrainian POWs held in Russia

On Jan. 19, near Kyiv's Lybidska metro station, families of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and concerned citizens held a rally to keep the plight of those still detained in Russia at the forefront of public consciousness. Organisers urged Kyiv residents and visitors to join the event, emphasizing the critical issue of prisoner exchanges.

20 January 2025, 07:45 PM

UN unveils widespread Russian tortures of Ukrainian detainees

Russian torture of Ukrainian prisoners is carried out as part of a coordinated state policy, Pablo de Greiff, Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine representative, said, Ukrainform reported on Jan. 14.

14 January 2025, 07:59 AM

Ukraine frees 187 captured soldiers, including Azovstal, Mariupol, and Zmiinyi Island defenders — photos

Ukraine has freed 189 citizens from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Dec. 30.

30 December 2024, 06:15 PM

Russian captivity

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