Soldiers who defended the southern city of Mariupol besieged by Vladimir Putin’s troops were among 189 Ukrainians freed in a prisoner swap with Russia. They were reunited with their families in emotional scenes at a hospital in northern Ukraine on Monday.
Ahead of their arrival, one woman, Alina, was waiting for her husband, Oleksandr who was captured defending Mariupol. Tearfully, she said: “I have so many emotions. “It’s been so difficult. I just want to see him.”. Ukrainian forces staved off Putin’s military seizing the city of Mariupol for nearly three months after the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
They holed up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant until the end of May. As Russia lost soldiers seeking to fully seize the city, Putin resorted to a siege vowing that “not even a fly comes through” his army’s lines. Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island in the Black Sea, an isle which has been bitterly fought over since the start of the war, were also among those freed.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for all of us. Today is one of those days – our team has managed to bring 189 Ukrainians back home,” Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X, also known as Twitter.
“These are military personnel: defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol, Chornobyl NPP, Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island), and various frontline sectors. “Among them are soldiers, sergeants, and officers. These are National Guardsmen, including Azov fighters, border guards, territorial defense forces, and servicemen of the Navy and Armed Forces.
