STORY: :: Over 200 Ukrainian service members arrive home as part of a prisoner-exchange with Russia
:: May 15, 2026
:: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was the first step in a bigger swap of 1,000 PoWs each
Standing near a bus together with other soldiers and wrapped in the blue-and-yellow national flag, Yevhen Yeremenko, a serviceman, said he was happy to return after waiting for his freedom for four years.
"It's a great pity it took so long. But some boys remain there. They are waiting and hoping. They hope that their motherland will get them out of there," he told Reuters as he devoured an apple.
"We must bring them back. Four years are difficult. Do not forget them!"
Ukraine's HUR military intelligence said that many of the returned servicemen had been held captive after the months-long defense of Mariupol, a southeastern port city that fell to Russia in 2022.
