UAF veteran, National Guard soldier brought back home from Russian-occupied territory

That is according to the military ombudsman's Facebook page, Ukrinform reports.

With the ombudsman's coordination, fighters from the Angels Special Reconnaissance Unit of the Ukrainian Navy successfully returned home a 29-year-old Armed Forces veteran. They also brought back a 34-year-old National Guard soldier who had been missing for more than three years. In reality, he had been held in captivity and forced labor on temporarily occupied territory.

The veteran's mother, herself an active-duty member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, contacted the ombudsman after learning that her son, following repeated torture, was hiding in the temporarily occupied part of the Luhansk region.

It was later discovered that not far from him, an active-duty National Guard soldier was being held in slavery by one of the collaborators.

"It was a complex and risky mission, partly because, in fact, two parallel special operations were taking place – the men were taken separately up to a certain point. Both the National Guard soldier the Armed Forces veteran did not know the full plan – they trusted us completely and followed every instruction," said Artem Dyblenko, an officer of the Angels unit.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 3,200 Ukrainians have been officially recognized as having been held in captivity.

Photo: Video screenshot