A Ukrainian journalist who was held incommunicado by Russia for more than three years has been released on Sunday as part of the latest prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv.

For more than three years, Dmytro Khilyuk, 50, was one of the thousands of Ukrainian civilians detained in Russia, something illegal under international law.

Khilyuk’s elderly parents had no information about his whereabouts but kept campaigning for his release, attending meetings with politicians in Ukraine and abroad, going to protests and tirelessly writing to Russian authorities.

A video from the exchange on Sunday released by Ukrainian authorities showed Khilyuk calling his mother just moments after crossing into Ukraine.

“I knew you cared about me and worried about me. Mum, don’t cry. I’ll be home soon,”

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