President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the return of 25 Ukrainian civilians and servicemen, including Azovstal defenders, from Russian captivity.

"Today, another 25 our people are coming back to Ukraine. They are our servicemen and civilians. Among them there are defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal as well as Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. The guys have serious wounds and diseases. Each of them will receive all necessary medical care," he said on the Telegram channel on Wednesday.

The head of state thanked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) "for assistance to make today's event possible" and the team "that searches for our people and organizes this important work."

"The return of our people home is something Ukraine constantly works on. And we will not stop until we bring all our people back," he said.

Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, for his part, said that seriously wounded and sick Ukrainian defenders, who had spent a long time in captivity, are home now.

"There is also a civilian among those returned. The occupiers captured him in Kyiv region and detained illegally," he said in a Telegram message.

According to the ombudsman, the youngest of those returned is 24 and the oldest one is 60.

"Our people have a range of diseases, including tuberculosis, oncology, gangrene. Also, there are Ukrainians with vision loss, amputation of limbs, other injuries," he said.

Lubinets also noted that Ukraine has managed to bring back injured Ukrainian servicemen from Kursk region as well.

According to the ombudsman, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Ukrainian negotiators and international partners from the UAE made it possible to bring the prisoners of war back to Ukraine.

"The next priority is providing those returned with a necessary range of medical care, surgeries and rehabilitation," Lubinets said.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) published an exclusive video, noting that on January 15 Ukraine and Russia carried out "the repatriation of seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war as provided by the Geneva Conventions."

Earlier, Russian media reported a prisoner swap in the 25 for 25 format.