For the past two years, Mariana Checheliuk was locked away in Russian “filtration” camps, never knowing when she would see her loved ones again.
Shuttled between detention centers in Donetsk, Yelenovka, Taganrog, Kamyshin and Mariupol, the 24-year-old investigator for Ukraine’s national police endured relentless physical and mental torture at the hands of her captors.
She was starved and brutally beaten for two years, after she was kidnapped while hiding from Russian bombs in the walls of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol along with her sister, who was fortunately freed by her kidnappers.
He suffered a litany of health problems, suffering from kidney failure, spinal problems and chronic bronchitis. She also started losing her hair and stopped having her period.
In August 2022, human rights activists expressed alarm at their fate in Russian hands.
Russian forces also tried to make her defect, her mother Nataliia Checheliuk told media outlet ZMINA in January 2024: “They were trying to lure my daughter to the Russian side with sweet promises of a big salary and intimidation. But she refused.
For the past two years, Mariana Checheliuk was locked away in Russian ‘filtration’ camps.
On Friday, Mariana was one of 75 people who were returned to Ukraine as part of the prisoner exchange agreed with Russia.
Mariana Checheliuk bursts into tears when she is returned to Ukraine
During his two years of captivity, he was only allowed to speak to his family once and only sent a handful of letters detailing his deteriorating health.
But on Friday, Mariana was one of 75 people who were returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange agreed with Russia.
The returnees were seen singing a patriotic song led by former prisoner of war Konstantin Mirgorodsky as they were driven to meet their families after being released from detention in Russia.
Upon arrival, they shouted and cheered as they joined their loved ones in Ukraine.
Some knelt and kissed the ground, while many wrapped themselves in yellow and blue flags.
They hugged each other and burst into tears. Many looked emaciated and poorly dressed.
During his two years of captivity, he was only allowed to speak to his family once and only sent a handful of letters detailing his deteriorating health.
The 24-year-old investigator for Ukraine’s national police endured relentless physical and mental torture at the hands of her captors.
During his two years of captivity, he was only allowed to speak to his family once and only sent a handful of letters detailing his deteriorating health.
Ukraine returned 75 prisoners, including four civilians, in the latest prisoner-of-war exchange with Russia.
This is only the fourth prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia since the invasion began in February 2022.
Many were seen crying with joy upon returning to Ukraine.
The same number of Russians, 75, were also returned to their homes in an exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
It was the first POW exchange since February, and only the fourth prisoner exchange this year and the 52nd since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It included a total of 150 POWs and the United Arab Emirates helped negotiate this last exchange, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in kyiv.
The two sides have blamed each other for what they say is a slowdown in trade.
In the past, Ukraine has urged Russia to change “all for all” and demonstrations calling for the release of prisoners of war are held weekly across Ukraine.
A Ukrainian official at the headquarters coordinating the exchanges, Vitalii Matviienko, said that “Ukraine is always ready.”
Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s human rights ombudsman, said earlier this week that kyiv was making “new artificial demands,” without elaborating.
Despite the exchange, almost 2,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war still remain in Russian hands.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday: “During all this time, we have not stopped working for a single day to bring everyone home from Russian captivity.
‘We remember each person.
‘We are making every effort to find each and every one of our inhabitants. I am grateful to the team responsible for the exchanges.’
