Dozens of prisoners of war freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
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Loading... - Goran Bolak
- 17 Apr 2023
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Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) are seen after swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location, Ukraine, April 16, 2023. (Reuters Photo)
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS APR 16, 2023 4:43 PM
Over 100 Ukrainians were released in a major exchange of prisoners of war with Russia Sunday, a top official confirmed, as Orthodox Ukrainians marked Easter. While celebrations were subdued due to security risks, with a curfew barring the faithful from customary all-night services, Ukrainian authorities and ordinary people shared messages of hope, linking the story of Jesus’ resurrection to their longing for peace.
They also prayed for a Ukrainian victory over Moscow, which unleashed its full-scale invasion last February. Dozens of families had special reasons to rejoice, as presidential adviser Andriy Yermak announced that 130 soldiers, sailors, border guards and others captured by Moscow were on their way back home following a "big Easter prisoner exchange."
Yermak said in a Telegram post Sunday that those released included troops who fought near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city which has for months been the focus of a grinding Russian offensive. "The lives of our people are the highest value for us," Yermak said, adding that Kyiv’s goal was to bring back all remaining POWs.
There was no immediate information on how many Russian prisoners were released, but the press service of the founder of the Wagner Group, the Kremlin-affiliated paramilitary force whose fighters are prominent in eastern Ukraine, also released a video Sunday showing Ukrainian prisoners of war being readied for an exchange. The video, published on the Telegram messaging service, features Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin instructing a soldier to prepare the Ukrainian captives to leave Russian-controlled territory "by lunchtime" Sunday. The POWs are then shown boarding trucks and walking along a road.
In his Easter address released Sunday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the holiday as marking "the victory of good, the victory of truth, the victory of life," and he stressed what he said was Ukrainian unity in the face of Russian aggression. Read More…
