President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 1,358 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were returned to their homes from Russian captivity in 2024.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy shared the information and praised the efforts of the ‘Ukrainian team.’ He also emphasized the need to ensure more positive news in 2025, particularly an end to the conflict with Russia, and expressed gratitude to Ukraine’s allies for their support.
“In 2024, we managed to bring 1,358 of our people back home to Ukraine from Russian captivity. These are our soldiers and civilians. Their fates are different, but they are equally happy to return home. Each and every one of them for the sake of whom a large Ukrainian team worked. We must do everything to ensure that in 2025, there will be even more such good news and returns of our people. Thank you to our partners who help,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
In 2024, we managed to bring 1,358 of our people back home to Ukraine from Russian captivity. These are our soldiers and civilians.
Their fates are different, but they are equally happy to return home. Each and every one of them for the sake of whom a large Ukrainian team… pic.twitter.com/AxTPYlmYhv
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 3, 2025
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which escalated in February 2022 with Russia’s full-scale invasion, has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths. Moscow continues to deny intentionally targeting civilians, despite widespread international condemnation and evidence of airstrikes on residential areas.
In response, Ukraine has ramped up its defense efforts with help from Western allies. However, the scale and intensity of Russia’s assaults have made it clear that more sophisticated and long-range defense capabilities are needed.
On November 19, 2023, marking the 1000th day of the conflict, the UN urged the international community to continue showing solidarity with Ukraine.
The UN also shared statistics on the war’s impact on the Ukrainian people.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Matthias Schmale reported that over 39,000 civilians have been killed or injured, more than 3,400 schools and hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, and 10 million people have been displaced.
Schmale also noted that since February 2024, civilian infrastructure has been decimated, with over 2,000 attacks on healthcare facilities, 2 million homes damaged, and 65 percent of Ukraine’s energy production capacity destroyed.
In 2024, the UN estimated that 14.6 million Ukrainians, nearly 40 percent of the country’s population, will need humanitarian assistance.
