Ukraine Shares Heartwarming Video Of 200 Prisoners Of War Returning Home After Russian Exchange

Ukrainian authorities have released footage of Ukraine's most recent prisoner swap with Russia.

A video uploaded by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) to YouTube last week showed Ukrainian soldiers being welcomed and embraced by their comrades.

The soldiers were among the 215 Ukrainians Russia released the day before as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, carried out with the help of Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

"This event touched the whole of Ukraine. Many people have been working to make our Heroes finally come home," the caption of the SSU's video read, according to a machine translation.

"This is, without exaggeration, a historical moment. We want to show unique footage of exactly how the exchange took place, the earliest and most sincere emotions of the Ukrainian defenders, who knew that they would not be forgotten and would definitely return home," it added.

More than 100 members of the Azov Regiment, a Ukrainian far-right paramilitary group absorbed by Ukraine's National Guard, were freed as part of the swap, according to The Washington Post.

Remnants of the unit surrendered to Russian forces in May after defending the Azovstal iron and steel works for weeks.

Russia also released ten foreign nationals captured in Ukraine, some of whom had been sentenced to death in occupied Ukrainian territory.

In return, Ukraine freed 68-year-old pro-Kremlin Ukrainian oligarch and opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk, along with 55 Russian and pro-Russian fighters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the swap was a "victory" for his country.

"We remember all our people and try to save every Ukrainian. This is the meaning of Ukraine, our essence, this is what distinguishes us from the enemy," Zelensky said in a video address.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also welcomed the exchange.

"The United States is appreciative of Ukraine, including all prisoners of war, regardless of nationality, in its negotiations, and we look forward to these U.S. citizens being reunited with their families," Blinken said in a statement.

Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh, two U.S. military veterans from Alabama, were among the ten foreigners Russia freed.

Meanwhile, the prisoner swap sparked criticism in Russia from pro-war nationalists over the imbalance in numbers and the release of members of the Azov Regiment, long portrayed as "Nazis" by the Russian government.