The release of 185 Ukrainian soldiers and 20 Ukrainian civilians from Russian captivity took place on Thursday.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the freed defenders "were in Mariupol and at Azovstal, Chernobyl NPP (Nuclear Power Plant)".

He said that most of them had been in captivity since 2022, with the youngest 26 and the oldest 59.

Zelenskyy also said that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia had returned more than 7,000 Ukrainians.

“We must bring everyone back, and we work on this every single day,” Zelenskyy added in a statement.