Ukraine has secured the return of seven civilian citizens who had been illegally held in Russian captivity for years, according to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. The released individuals, who range in age from 35 to 66, were all detained by Russian forces in 2022 during the occupation of Mariupol, as well as the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions. Lubinets specifically highlighted that the detainees from the Kyiv region were taken from the Bucha district, an area where occupying forces committed widespread atrocities in the early stages of the invasion.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to the ombudsman, the circumstances of their detentions varied. One Ukrainian was abducted from his home simply because his sons were serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while another was detained while traveling to work on the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion. The group also includes a volunteer who had joined the “Taira’s Angels” paramedic brigade in Mariupol in 2022. The volunteer was captured on the same day as the prominent Ukrainian paramedic known as “Taira,” who was successfully released in a prior exchange. Lubinets stated that the return of these civilians was the result of direct humanitarian coordination with Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova. He extended his gratitude to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Foreign Intelligence Service, and all other agencies operating under the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.