Thirty-two Ukrainian soldiers have been released from Russian captivity in a prisoner exchange.
The footage shows most of the prisoners freed in the recent exchange.
The images were obtained from the Ukrainian Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Tuesday, 11th October, along with a statement saying: “Another exchange of prisoners of war took place. 32 Ukrainian defenders returned home.
“As part of the work of the Coordination Staff on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 32 defenders were freed from captivity. Three of them are officers, 28 people are soldiers, and one is a sailor.
“The released defenders belong, in particular, to 72th, 24th and 58th Separate Mechanized Brigades, the 26th Separate Artillery Brigade, the 36th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade, the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade, and the 109th Separate Mountain Assault Battalion.
“The youngest of the released soldiers is 22 years old, the oldest is 51 years old.
“Preparations for the next exchanges are ongoing. Ukraine is doing everything possible so that each of our defenders is found and released from captivity.”
There are currently no details on what Ukraine gave Russia to secure the release of the Ukrainian soldiers.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 231st day of the war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 12th October, Russia had lost about 63,380 personnel, 2,505 tanks, 5,181 armoured combat vehicles, 1,507 artillery units, 355 multiple launch rocket systems, 182 air defence systems, 268 warplanes, 235 helicopters, 1,129 drones, 315 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,927 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 136 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
G7 leaders have condemned Russia’s recent missile attacks on Ukrainian cities “in the strongest possible terms” and have vowed to support Kyiv “for as long as it takes”.
Russia continued to attack civilian targets in Ukraine on Tuesday. The Russian Ministry of Defence has claimed that it is launching long-range air strikes on Ukraine’s energy and military infrastructure.
US President Joe Biden has said that Vladimir Putin is a “rational actor who has miscalculated significantly”.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has asked the leaders of the G7 to supply more air defence systems to help defend his country from the Russian invaders.
President Zelensky also asked for an international monitoring mission to be sent to Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus as Russia attempts to drag its allies into the war.
President Zelensky has also urged the UN cultural agency to expel Russia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, after the country’s strikes significantly damaged hundreds of cultural sites.
The Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday that they had exhumed the bodies of dozens of people, including a one-year-old baby, to determine how they died after Russian troops retreated from the towns of Lyman and Sviatohirsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow would not turn down a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden at the G20 meeting scheduled to take place next month.
Lavrov also claimed that Moscow was open to talks with the West over Ukraine but had not received any “serious offers” to negotiate.
The Ministry of Defence of Belarus has claimed that the joint deployment of forces with Russia along its borders is a defensive measure to ensure “security”.
