The wives of some of the dozens of Ukrainian fighters freed by Russia in a prisoner swap have described to CNN their disbelief and joy at learning their loved ones had been freed.
Alina Volovyk, speaking to CNN via WhatsApp, described receiving a phone call from a man she didn’t recognize at first as her husband, Artem Volovyk, a Ukrainian marine who fought at the Azovstal steel plant earlier this year, before all of Mariupol was captured. by Russian forces.
“At first, I didn’t understand what was happening and where I was,” Alina Volovyk recalled. “But he said:” Honey, I’m already in Ukraine! There was an exchange.'””I started screaming, my hands were shaking,” she said. “Now I’m the happiest woman in the world.”
Russia released 215 people from its custody on Wednesday, including some foreigners who had been fighting for Ukraine. In return, Ukraine released 55 people, as well as Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and oligarch whose daughter is Vladimir Putin’s goddaughter.
Among the 215 people freed by Russia were “188 heroes of Azovstal and Mariupol,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said overnight.
The release of the Azovstal and Mariupol fighters is a huge blow to Ukrainian morale, given the huge role the defense of Mariupol played in the Ukrainian psyche early in the war.
This is the largest single launch of Mariupol fighters. In a prisoner swap in June, Russia released 144 soldiers, including 95 who had defended the Azovstal plant.
Ruslana Volynska, whose husband Serhii “Volyna” Volynskyi, was the acting commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, told CNN via text message that she learned of the exchange on the Internet.
“Later Serhii called and I heard him. It was boundless joy, shock, happiness! All emotions are mixed! I cried with happiness and could not believe that this day had come,” she said .
An adviser to the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryuschenko, who was forced to leave his city as Russia advanced, told Telegram that Mariupol “rejoices the return of its heroes to Ukrainian soil. Until and all in occupation!”
“I still can’t believe it,” Alina Volovyk told CNN. “It seems to me that this is a dream and I will wake up soon. I couldn’t sleep until 5 in the morning, because I was overwhelmed with emotions.”
“Just two hours ago, when I was doing some shopping, I realized that my husband was at home and I started to cry. All I want now is to hug him as soon as possible,” he added.