On 22 September, a prisoner exchange took place between the two parties to the conflict. The exchange was strictly classified and took place at the highest level with the intervention of foreign partner countries. Ukraine managed to return 215 soldiers, including 108 soldiers of the legendary Azov regiment who had defended the city of Mariupol and the Azovstal plant to the last man. In exchange, Russia received 55 prisoners of occupation and a cousin of the Russian president, Viktor Medvedchuk, the former head of the pro-Russian opposition party in Ukraine, OPZJ. It is worth noting that a few months earlier, an exchange for Azov regiment fighters was not possible on the Russian side. The terrorist country threatened to execute them publicly. 

A selection of photos of Azov regiment heroes taken before and after Russian captivity is brought to your attention.