A defender has returned from captivity; his 12-year-old brother and grandmother lost their lives in a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih.

This was reported by the United24 platform.

Nikita is a serviceman from the 21st Separate Brigade of the National Guard. As part of a tactical group, he defended the city of Mariupol from the very first days of the full-scale invasion.

While he was in captivity, he lost his family. On the night of September 21, Russia attacked the residents of Kryvyi Rih with several missiles. As a result of the strikes on residential areas, three people were killed, including his grandmother Valentina and his 12-year-old brother Maksym.

As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Nikita's parents were also carrying out tasks as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the strike, Nikita's father, Andriy Shaulskyi, was engaged in the Kherson direction.

Release of 189 Defenders from Captivity

On December 30, Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange. A total of 189 Ukrainian defenders were successfully returned home. This marks one of the largest exchanges since the onset of the full-scale invasion.

The released military personnel included defenders of "Azovstal" and Mariupol, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and Snake Island. Additionally, there were military personnel who defended Ukraine in the Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson directions. Also returned were those captured in the Kursk region.

Furthermore, two civilians captured in Mariupol were released from Russian captivity.

Many Ukrainians have been held in Russian captivity for over two and a half years. The defenders suffer from exacerbated chronic illnesses, the consequences of mine-explosive injuries, and severe wounds.

In total, 3,956 individuals have already returned from Russian captivity, including 1,358 in 2024.