I wish you good health!
And greetings to all of you – participants of the Conference, and everyone helping to release people from captivity.
This Wednesday brought very good news for all of us in Ukraine – 197 more of our people were brought home from Russian captivity. The hundreds of thousands of joyful posts on social media, and all the media coverage about the return of our men, show just how much Ukrainians await and honor their people, how happy we are to see our people come back.
We remember every single person who is in captivity – all our service members and all our civilians. We are searching for information and confirmation about everyone who may be held captive by the Russians, but on whom there is no definite information yet. And it is always a moment of joy when we manage to find someone and bring them home.
For more than three years now, nearly the entire duration of this war, our Coordination Headquarters – all the services working to bring our prisoners home – has been operating. Over four thousand people have already been returned – 4,306. And we will bring everyone back.
All my negotiations, every meeting with our partners who can help, always include the issue of our Ukrainian prisoners. Now, as we speak with the American side and other partners about how to bring the war to an end, the release of prisoners is one of the very first key steps we discuss. We believe this is something that must definitely happen. I thank all our partners who support us in this effort – and everyone in Ukraine and around the world who keeps the issue of prisoners on the public agenda.
I also ask all of you to remember that each person we release is, in fact, a feat of those on the front line who replenish our exchange fund. I want to thank all our warriors for such bravery. And please, I ask you not to forget that bringing people home should not be the end of caring for those who were in captivity. It is a duty of all levels of government – and of every person who is simply able to help.
Today, I want to thank everyone involved in this team effort – the Office of the President, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ombudsman, and all others whose efforts bring Ukrainians home. We always bring our people back – and that is one of the most important principles of our state. That’s how it is, and that’s how it will be. Thank you!
Glory to Ukraine!