Ten Ukrainian service members who had been listed as missing in action returned to Ukraine via Belarus on Aug. 24 as part of a new stage of prisoner exchange, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday on social media.
The returning soldiers served in the Armed Forces and National Guard of Ukraine and had defended the country in the Donetsk sector, Zelensky said.
“All of them had been considered missing in action. And it is very important that we managed to bring them back,” he said.
Zelensky thanked those working to secure the return of Ukrainian prisoners and said Kyiv remains committed to freeing everyone still in captivity.
“We remember each and every person who remains in captivity. We are searching for every name. And we will do everything to free them and bring them home,” he said.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a Facebook post that the exchange marked the second stage of the latest prisoner swap.
“On the President’s instructions, today, on Independence Day, we managed to bring another 10 Ukrainian citizens back from the Republic of Belarus,” the statement said. “They are service members of the Armed Forces and National Guard: sergeants, soldiers and sailors.”
The exchange was arranged through negotiations led by the Coordination Headquarters’ working group on prisoner exchanges. All 10 returning service members had been listed as missing in action – wo since 2024 and eight since 2025.
Those released will receive medical treatment and undergo a rehabilitation program, officials said.
On Aug. 19, 103 Ukrainian service members were released from Russian captivity.