Human rights activist Maksym Butkevych among those returned in 190-person prisoner swap
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Ukrainian human rights activist and serviceman, Maksym Butkevych, was among the 95 prisoners of war who were returned to Ukraine on Oct. 18, Butkevych's family confirmed.
Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Oct. 18 that it had conducted a 95-for-95 prisoner exchange with Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on the reported swap.
No details were immediately available as to other POWs returned home to Ukraine. Nor was it immediately clear as which prisoners held by Ukraine were returned to Russia.
The United Arab Emirates reportedly assisted in brokering the 190-person prisoner exchange.
Human Rights Center ZMINA, the organization which Butkevych co-founded, announced Butkevych return from Russian captivity, where he has held since being captured in June 2022.
Butkevych is a well-known human rights activist and journalist specializing in the protection of refugees.
Before the war, Butkevych worked with a Ukrainian NGO supporting internally displaced persons, as well as at the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine. He decided to enlist in the Ukrainian military after the full-scale invasion.
After being captured in the summer of 2022, a Russian-appointed court forced him to plead guilty to allegedly firing a grenade launcher at an apartment building.
Russian-appointed authorities in occupied Luhansk and Donetsk sentenced Butkevych to 13 years in prison in March 2023, in what Amnesty International deemed as "a grave miscarriage of justice."
Following his arrest, Butkevych's whereabouts were unknown for long periods of time until it was revealed that he was being held in a penal colony in Krasnyi Luch in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast.
According to ZMINA, Butkevych is currently back on Ukrainian territory.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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