Two policemen returned to Ukraine after being in captivity for over two years: a touching story.

On October 18, 95 Ukrainian defenders, including two policemen - Maksym Dudnik and Yehor Denysov, returned from Russian captivity. This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.

According to the report, the policemen spent more than two and a half years in captivity.

«Before the full-scale invasion, Maksym Dudnik worked as a district police officer in Mariupol, and Yehor Denysov was a policeman of the platoon No. 2 RPOP of the Donetsk region police», - the report says.

The National Police notes that Maksym Dudnik continued to serve during the fierce battles for Mariupol, assisting in the evacuation of civilians. After the city's encirclement, he was located at «Azovstal». In May 2022, during the evacuation from the plant, the occupiers captured the policeman.

Meanwhile, Yehor Denysov was part of the group that organized the evacuation of the population from occupied Mariupol. In March 2022, the occupiers detained the policeman in the Mariupol district.

«Both were held in the Olenivka Colony, they endured the horrors of Russian captivity... More than two and a half years the guys were in captivity, but now they finally returned home», - notes the National Police.

Let us recall that on October 18, 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home. «The peculiarity of this exchange is that many Ukrainians who received so-called «verdicts» of the judicial system of the aggressor country and were «convicted»: 28 - to long terms, and 20 - to life imprisonment for defending their land from the aggressor are returning home», - stated in the message of the Coordination Headquarters.

By the way, human rights defender, journalist, activist, and co-founder of the Human Rights Center Zmina Maksym Butkevych returned from Russian captivity on October 18. His father reported this for Zmina.

Also, 34 fighters of «Azov» returned from Russian captivity. «In times of heavy battles, such news gives strength to the personnel of the 12th brigade «Azov» and raises morale. To Ukraine from Russian captivity returned another 34 servicemen of «Azov». These warriors defended Mariupol for 86 days, by order they left the territory of «Azovstal» and spent two and a half years in Russian captivity. Thanks to the fighters of the Mariupol garrison, Ukraine withstood the first blow in the spring of 2022».