Russia and Ukraine complete swap of 14 civilian detainees
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 14 detained civilians on Saturday, returning seven individuals to each side. The bilateral repatriation marks a rare humanitarian agreement focused exclusively on non-combatants.
Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed the safe return of the seven Ukrainian nationals. He stated that Russian forces had unlawfully held these citizens in captivity for several years.
Regional distribution of detainees
The released Ukrainian citizens range in age from 35 to 66 years old. Russian forces originally detained them in 2022 during the military occupation of Mariupol and the Bucha district of the Kyiv region. Additional detainees were captured in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk territories.
Concurrently, Russian officials announced the repatriation of seven individuals. The group includes five residents from the Kursk region, alongside two citizens from other Russian administrative areas.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
