Ukrainian civilians held captive in Russia since 2014 released in huge exchange

Ukrainian civilians who have been held captive in Russia since 2014 have been released as part of a huge exchange, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Moving footage shared by the Ukrainian president showed people draped with Ukrainian flags around them, reuniting with their loved ones. The swap on Thursday (14 August) included 33 soldiers and 51 civilians, according to the Ukrainian state committee in charge of prisoners of war. One of the prisoners had spent more than 4,000 days in captivity, whilst another was a primary school teacher captured by Russian-backed separatists in 2019. Mr Zelensky added that almost all of the newly released prisoners require medical care and rehabilitation.