Ukraine rescues four soldiers hiding under occupation for three years

[Starmix]

According to the report, Neizhpapa said that Olha Reshetilova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Service Members and Their Families, had received a report that the twin brother of a recently exchanged marine had been severely wounded during fighting in Ukraine’s east in 2022. The soldier ended up in a hospital and, thanks to sympathetic doctors, was hidden from Russian secret services. Upon receiving the report, the Navy command decided to begin special evacuation measures. It later turned out that, along with the twin brother, three National Guard soldiers had also been in the hospital, where they had been forced to hide for more than three years. In the end, the Navy’s special reconnaissance unit, Angels, evacuated the Marine, the three National Guard fighters, and a hospital medic who had helped hide them. The operation was planned and carried out in several stages, taking into account the illegal status of all involved, the high intensity of fighting, and the strengthened filtration measures by Russian secret services. "Our soldiers are now safe and finally reunited with their families. The Navy's special reconnaissance unit, Angels, has rescued 88 people and once again proved that nothing is impossible for Ukrainian soldiers. We are fighting for everyone", Oleksii Neizhpapa said.

The report also said that President Volodymyr Zelensky said in July that Kyiv had secured the release of over 6,400 Ukrainians from Russian captivity since 2022, of whom 5,857 were freed during prisoner exchanges. He said that Ukraine has brought home 5,857 people from Russian captivity via exchanges since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Another 555 people were freed separately from prisoner exchanges, Zelensky added, without providing additional details. The president made the announcement following a meeting with a team focused on the repatriation of prisoners held by Russia, which coincided with the commemoration of the massacre of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) in a Russian military prison in Olenivka in 2022. "