Ukraine has carried out another stage of the large-scale prisoner exchange in accordance with the Istanbul agreements. Defenders who have returned to their homeland are those under the age of 25, as well as wounded and seriously ill soldiers who had spent years in Russian captivity, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reports.
Russia holds an estimated 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers in captivity. Additionally, around 60,000 Ukrainians are considered missing, many
Ukraine has carried out another stage of the large-scale prisoner exchange in accordance with the Istanbul agreements. Defenders who have returned to their homeland are those under the age of 25, as well as wounded and seriously ill soldiers who had spent years in Russian captivity, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reports.
Russia holds an estimated 8,000 Ukrainian soldiers in captivity. Additionally, around 60,000 Ukrainians are considered missing, many of whom may also be detained in Russian prisons.
Among those freed are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including personnel from the Navy, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service.
“The youngest defender is 24 years old. He was captured during the defense of Mariupol in April 2022, at the age of 21,” say Ukrainian authorities.
Many of those returned had been taken prisoner during the fierce battles for Mariupol. One of the freed is a National Guardsman who was guarding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
“The oldest defender returned to Ukraine is 62 years old,” the Coordination HQ writes.
Some of the soldiers are officers. They defended Ukraine on the hottest frontlines: Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Kyiv, and Sumy directions.
“The defenders released from captivity will undergo the necessary medical examination, receive support for physical and psychological rehabilitation, as well as all due payments for the entire period of their imprisonment,” reveals the agency.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War is already preparing the next exchange.
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The government has permitted Dr. Cameron Lacey, a psychiatrist, to prescribe psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” for depression.
The government has permitted Dr. Cameron Lacey, a psychiatrist, to prescribe psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” for depression.
Ukraine established its first mental health facility in the western city of Lviv dedicated to supporting released prisoners of war (POWs) and torture survivors after the Russian captivity, according to Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi.
Human rights organizations have documented systematic torture and abuse of Ukrainian prisoners in Russian captivity, with up to 90% of returned Ukrainian POWs experiencing them during detention. Documented abuse methods include beatings, electric shocks, mock execut
Ukraine established its first mental health facility in the western city of Lviv dedicated to supporting released prisoners of war (POWs) and torture survivors after the Russian captivity, according to Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi.
Human rights organizations have documented systematic torture and abuse of Ukrainian prisoners in Russian captivity, with up to 90% of returned Ukrainian POWs experiencing them during detention. Documented abuse methods include beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, waterboarding, prolonged stress positions, starvation, denial of medical care, sexual violence, psychological torture, and degrading treatment. Forensic examinations of deceased POWs have also revealed evidence of brutal treatment, including signs of torture and starvation.
The Saint Leo the Great Mental Health Center opened on 24 June with an aim to provide psychological and rehabilitation services to individuals who experienced captivity, torture, and psychological trauma during the war with Russia, according to the Lviv city administration.
The facility includes 17 patient accommodation rooms designed to resemble residential spaces rather than hospital environments.
Infrastructure includes:
outpatient and inpatient care areas
individual and group therapy spaces
30 beds for extended rehabilitation programs
a separate building for art therapy with a pottery workshop on the ground floor and an art studio on the second floor.
The mental health center includes therapy and art spaces to help people recover from war and torture in captivity.Photos: Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi
“If someone wants to weave, sing, or engage in music, we will adapt. The main thing is to give a person freedom and an environment where they can recover,” Mayor Sadovyi stated.
The facility expects to serve approximately 1,000 patients annually, targeting individuals returning from captivity, those recovering from losses, and people managing trauma from wartime experiences.
As of May 2025, the Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War Affairs reported that Ukraine has returned 5,757 citizens since the full-scale war began, with an additional 536 Ukrainians returning through non-exchange mechanisms.
However, following recent Istanbul peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in June 2025, over a thousand more prisoners were exchanged, especially those who are severely ill or wounded and under the age of 25.
The Flanders government (a region of Belgium) provided complete funding for the center through a 1.5 million euro ($1.7 million) grant, according to city officials.
The Deputy Head of the President’s Office Iryna Mudra characterized the center as part of Ukraine’s humanitarian infrastructure development.
“Restoring justice is not only about judicial processes. It is also the state’s ability to respond to the pain of every person who suffered from aggression,” she stated.
The Deputy Head of the President’s Office Iryna Mudra characterized the center as part of Ukraine’s humanitarian infrastructure development during the Unbroken Justice Forum addressing torture victim support and international accountability for crimes against humanity.
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Patients of PHA Healthcare, a treatment program in Baltimore, were housed in drug-ridden buildings where many overdosed, an investigation reported last year. Some are still there.
Patients of PHA Healthcare, a treatment program in Baltimore, were housed in drug-ridden buildings where many overdosed, an investigation reported last year. Some are still there.
PHA Healthcare told state regulators it intended to send some patients to I’m Still Standing By Grace, whose owner also ran the methadone clinic By Grace, which used to drop off medication at PHA Healthcare’s apartments.
They returned from hell. On 20 June, a new group of severely wounded and seriously ill Ukrainian defenders was released from Russian captivity.
This swap is the result of the second round of negotiations in Istanbul — the prisoner exchange deal has become a breakthrough after many months of deadlock. Following the 2 June talks, dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have already returned home. The exchange process is ongoing, and the exact figures are being withheld until all stages are completed.
Four
They returned from hell. On 20 June, a new group of severely wounded and seriously ill Ukrainian defenders was released from Russian captivity.
This swap is the result of the second round of negotiations in Istanbul — the prisoner exchange deal has become a breakthrough after many months of deadlock. Following the 2 June talks, dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have already returned home. The exchange process is ongoing, and the exact figures are being withheld until all stages are completed.
Four exchange waves took place between 9 and 14 June, with another one on 19 June. Most of those returned had been held by Russia since 2022, many of them defenders of Mariupol.
According to the Coordination Headquarters, the freed prisoners include soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Navy, the National Guard, the Territorial Defense Forces, the Air Assault Forces, the Drone Force, and the State Border Guard Service. All are either seriously wounded or suffer from chronic illnesses.
“Epilepsy, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, vision impairment, musculoskeletal issues, chronic gastrointestinal conditions, and hernias. Many suffer from extreme weight loss,” the Ukrainian official said in a statement.
The released defenders are being transferred to medical facilities for diagnostics, treatment, and rehabilitation. They will also have their documents restored and receive back pay for the entire period of captivity.
Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, noted that the oldest of the released is 60 years old. Some of the families had been appealing to his office for years, even sending letters to Moscow.
“Among them are those whose relatives contacted the Ombudsman’s Office. Our institution was engaged in defending their rights,” Lubinets said.
President Zelenskyy confirmed the return of defenders from Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv oblasts.
Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities said Russia slipped the bodies of its dead soldiers into Ukraine’s swap convoys. Kyiv has received over 6,060 bodies from Moscow under the Istanbul agreements on the exchange of war dead, but many of them are not Ukrainian.
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