Fighters from the Azov steel plant free – the emotional end of a prisoner of war UN: Gaza Strip has become “uninhabitable” – an overview of the night

Beaming faces, men wrapped in Ukrainian flags, embracing each other: photos show the emotional end of months of captivity. 224 Ukrainians are back in their homeland. “It is crucial to bring our people home,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a post on X.

In return, Ukraine released 248 Russian prisoners of war. The exchange is said to have been mediated by the United Arab Emirates. This is the largest prisoner exchange since the Russian attack on Ukraine and the first in five months. “There was a long pause in the exchanges, but there was no pause in the negotiations,” Zelenskiy said. The fact that these are now successful is ‘good news’.

Marriage proposal for military doctor

Ukrainian military doctor Galyna Fedychyn received a marriage proposal from her fiancé after her return. The head of the presidential office Andrij Jermak published a photo of the happy couple on X. Mykola Gryzenjak greeted his girlfriend with a huge bouquet of roses – and the engagement ring.

The couple served in the 36th Marine Brigade in spring 2022, defending the city of Mariupol against Russian soldiers. Their commander Serhij Volynskyj, known as ‘Volyna’, said of the engagement: ‘This love has survived trials that can break the strongest.’

Thousands of civilians barricaded themselves in the steel mills

The soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade are revered as heroes in Ukraine for withstanding a weeks-long siege by Russia. Fedychyn was taken prisoner of war and the couple were separated for almost two years. “Their hearts have not stopped beating,” Commander Volyna said.

Among the prisoners of war now released are many of the early fighters. In addition to fighters from the 36th Marine Brigade, there are also workers at the Azov steel plant, which became a tragic site of battle in the spring of 2022, Yermak writes.

In the meantime, approximately a thousand civilians were said to have been on the complex factory site. Some could be evacuated by helicopter through life-threatening operations. On May 20, 2022, the Ukrainian government ordered the surrender. The fighters and workers were taken prisoner.

Among those released is a former employee of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant who was captured in the first days of the war, the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, reported on X.

Also: border guards, police officers and Snake Island fighters. When a Russian warship approached the Ukrainian island, Ukrainian soldiers reacted angrily and broadcast the now famous radio message “Russian warship, fuck you.” The Ukrainians had to give up the island the same day; it was later recaptured.

Sources