«Didn't believe until the last moment that I was going home»: the 58th prisoner exchange took place.

Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home

The Coordination Headquarters conducted the 58th prisoner exchange. Another 95 Defenders of Ukraine returned home. This was previously reported by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his Telegram.

The peculiarity of this exchange is that a significant number of Ukrainians who had received so-called "verdicts" from the judicial system of the aggressor country and were "convicted": 28 to long terms, and 20 – to life imprisonment for defending their own land from the aggressor are returning home

Denis Kharchenko is a fighter of the 36th Marine Brigade. He defended Mariupol from the first days of the war. He was captured 32 km from Mariupol during the defense of the Illich plant. "I didn't believe until the last moment that I was going home," says Denis.

After the former prisoners of war returned home, many of them immediately called their parents.

"Mom, I was waiting too... I'll be home soon, we'll meet. Just don't cry, mom. I'm already back, everything is fine," the soldier says to his mother.

The Azovstal defender Ivan was in Russian captivity for 2.5 years, and today he returned home. Next to him is his fiancée Diana, who waited for him all this Time.

"Everyone who could fooled me," – the woman came to support the freed Ukrainian guys while her husband was still in captivity. She did not expect to see among the freed her husband, whom she had been waiting for all those 30 months. Everyone kept it a secret until the last moment that he would also return.

Mother meets sons from Russian captivity – fighters of "Azov" and defenders of "Azovstal". Stanislav and Anton are marines. They were in captivity for over two years.

The SBU published an exclusive video of the return of 95 Ukrainians from captivity. The footage shows how Ukrainian defenders leave the occupied territory beyond the front line and board buses that will take them to free Ukrainian soil.

Recall, 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home. Meanwhile, 95 Russians also went to the territory of Russia.

By the way, human rights activist, journalist, activist, and co-founder of the Human Rights Center ZMINA Maksim Butkevich was freed from Russian captivity on October 18. His father reported this to ZMINA.

Recall, today the Coordination Headquarters reported that the bodies of 501 fallen defenders were returned to Ukraine as a result of repatriation measures.