150 LPR servicemen return from Ukrainian captivity since February - ombudsperson

More than 150 servicemen of the Lugansk People’s Republic have returned from Ukrainian captivity since the beginning of the special military operation (SVO), LPR ombudsperson Viktoria Serdyukova said at a press briefing at the Lugansk Media Center.

 

“As of now, more than 150 militiamen have been freed from Ukrainian captivity,” Serdyukova said. “Each of them told us about inhuman treatment they had been subjected to.”

 

Earlier, Head of the legal department of the LPR ombudsperson’s Office Alina Nechayeva said that as of December 1, 122 LPR militiamen had returned from Ukrainian captivity since the beginning of the SVO.

 

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect Donbass residents from Ukrainian aggression. Prior to that, LPR and DPR Heads Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin asked the Russian leader to provide military assistance. The LPR militia and Russian armed forces fully liberated the LPR territory from Ukrainian armed formations on July 3.

 

The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014.  The peace talks that began soon thereafter failed to reach tangible results due to Kiev’s position to settle the conflict by force.

 

The Lugansk People’s Republic became a part of Russia on September 30, 2022 following the unification referendum.*i*ie