VOVCHANSK, Ukraine A city in a fiery pit into which Russian diversion groups are making their way. Covered in smoke from burning houses with the smell of gunpowder in the air. This is not the place to even stop to get out of the car. The photograph does not disguise the sounds and it is difficult to convey the fear that the people who remained there and those who are trying to save them are going through. I can’t believe that this has already happened before and seeing all this I once again catch myself thinking – DEJA VU? War is very treacherous. It seems to me that here we are misleading, that we have let our guard down and made rash movements. #ukraine #russia #war #invasion #kharkiv
VOVCHANSK, Ukraine A city in a fiery pit into which Russian diversion groups are making their way. Covered in smoke from burning houses with the smell of gunpowder in the air. This is not the place to even stop to get out of the car. The photograph does not disguise the sounds and it is difficult to convey the fear that the people who remained there and those who are trying to save them are going through. I can’t believe that this has already happened before and seeing all this I once again catch myself thinking – DEJA VU? War is very treacherous. It seems to me that here we are misleading, that we have let our guard down and made rash movements. #ukraine #russia #war #invasion #kharkiv
VOVCHANSK, Ukraine A city in a fiery pit into which Russian diversion groups are making their way. Covered in smoke from burning houses with the smell of gunpowder in the air. This is not the place to even stop to get out of the car. The photograph does not disguise the sounds and it is difficult to convey the fear that the people who remained there and those who are trying to save them are going through. I can’t believe that this has already happened before and seeing all this I once again catch myself thinking – DEJA VU? War is very treacherous. It seems to me that here we are misleading, that we have let our guard down and made rash movements. #ukraine #russia #war #invasion #kharkiv
VOVCHANSK, Ukraine A city in a fiery pit into which Russian diversion groups are making their way. Covered in smoke from burning houses with the smell of gunpowder in the air. This is not the place to even stop to get out of the car. The photograph does not disguise the sounds and it is difficult to convey the fear that the people who remained there and those who are trying to save them are going through. I can’t believe that this has already happened before and seeing all this I once again catch myself thinking – DEJA VU? War is very treacherous. It seems to me that here we are misleading, that we have let our guard down and made rash movements. #ukraine #russia #war #invasion #kharkiv
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR get to make phone calls home. UKRAINIANS DON’T. FAR WESTERN UKRAINE — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family in Kursk, a Russian city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, and he says that has kept him grounded. It is a lifeline unavailable to Ukrainian POWs. Now, infuriated Ukrainian families are demanding an end to the phone calls imprisoned Russian soldiers get to make. “To be able to talk to your loved ones is worth a lot. I’ve already been in prison for almost a year. I’m losing my mind,” Alexander told The Associated Press during a recent visit for several news outlets to Ukraine’s main POW camp, as he completed his work shift. “People are not made of steel.” He said the brief conversations, closely monitored by his Ukrainian captors, pulled him from the brink of despair – even though for him and all Russian POWs, the calls are growing rarer by the week…. Text LORI HINNANT https://apnews.com/article/585d93ec00fe7a80a9c520e265ac5a6d
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
SUMY, Ukraine Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months. But as well sides swap bodies of their fallen soldiers. Ukraine returned 212 corpses, and Russia — 45. The Ukrainians were returned on several buses that drove into the northern Sumy region. As they disembarked, they shouted joyfully and called their families to tell them they were home. Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow-blue flags. They hugged one another, breaking into tears. Many appeared emaciated and poorly dressed. Among those who were returned home to Ukraine on Friday was Roman Onyschuk, an IT worker who joined Ukrainian forces as a volunteer at the start of the Russian invasion. He was captured in March 2022 in the Kharkiv region. “I just want to hear my wife’s voice, my son’s voice. I missed his three birthdays,” he said. In the more than 800 days he spent in captivity, he never communicated with his family and he doesn’t know what city they are in now, he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” Onyschuk added. Dmytro Kantypenko was captured on Snake Island in the Black Sea in the first days of the war. He was among those freed Friday and said he called his mother to tell her he was back in Ukraine. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, wiping away his tears. He learned that his wife had fled to Lithuania with their son. The Kantypenko family is from Izium in the Kharkiv region, which survived Russian occupation. Kantypenko said the Russians woke him up in the middle of the night without any explanation, giving him a short time to change his clothes before they were on their way. Ukrainians with blue and yellow flags took to the streets and loudly welcomed their defenders home. Text @h_arhirova #ukraine #russia #invasion #pow
