Seven Donbass defenders who spent a year in Ukrainian captivity have been set free together with other servicemen in a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, said Lugansk People’s Republic ombudsperson Viktoria Serdyukova.
The prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine on April 10, 2023 was welcome news to Lugansk region women whose sons and husbands were mobilized to 2nd and 1st Army Corps in February 2022 and spent long months in Ukrainian captivity,” Serdyukova said in a post on Telegram. “There are seven servicemen among the former POWs who have been held in Ukrainian prisons for a whole year.”
She thanked all law-enforcement bodies which had helped to arrange the prisoner swap.
Sixty-three Russian servicemen including 12 Donbass defenders returned from Kiev-controlled territory in the prisoner exchange on February 4. On February 16, Ukraine handed over 101 servicemen including 44 Donbass defenders. The LPR brought home 34 servicemen in the prisoner exchange with Ukraine on March 7.
LPR Acting Head Leonid Pasechnik said that the Republic had brought home 65 fighters in the prisoner swap with Ukraine during the New Year holidays.
Serdyukova said that as of December 12, 2022, 150 LPR militiamen had returned from Ukrainian captivity since the beginning of the special military operation. Just before the New Year, the Republic got back another 41 servicemen including 37 LPR militiamen. The LPR ombudsperson said that more than 100 POWs had been physically abused.
The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. The peace talks that began soon thereafter failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression on February 24, 2022. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance.
The Lugansk People’s Republic acceded to Russia on September 30, 2022 following the unification referendum.*i*v
