Kyiv reports bringing home 64 Ukrainian military personnel captured near Donetsk, Luhansk

Head of the Ukrainian president’s office Andriy Yermak reported that 64 Ukrainian service members were released by Russia and returned home.

“64 Ukrainian Armed Forces warriors who fought near Donetsk and Luhansk, particularly in the Bakhmut defence operation, are coming home,” Yermak wrote.

Moreover, he says that US citizen Suedi Murekezi was released, while four bodies were returned.

Moscow has not made any official announcements about the swap.

Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry reported that 60 and 50 Russian service members had been released by Ukraine. Yermak then also noted that 50 Ukrainian military personnel, including defenders of Mariupol and the Azovstal Steel Works, had returned home.

The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) then surmised that Moscow is trying to quell the public’s discontent through these frequent swaps.