Vitalii Hyrenko, the last defender of Zmiinyi, returned to the city of Izmail in the Odesa region after being exchanged on July 23 during the ninth stage of the return of prisoners. The man spent three years and five months in Russian captivity. He was met at the entrance to his hometown with balloons and flags.
«Finally, all this is over, captivity and the first adjustment. Yesterday, I swam in the sea for the first time. I am getting used to people. But not completely yet. So everything is fine, everything is going in its own order,» – commented Vitalii Hyrenko.
Vitalii Hyrenko fell into Russian captivity on the first day of the full-scale invasion when the Russians captured Zmiinyi Island. The defender's wife, Aliona Hyrenko, stated that at first, she did not know where her husband was and learned about his fate from Russian media.
The difficult path back home
«We learned about the captivity when our president announced that all the guys who were on Zmiinyi Island had died. Then, on February 26, we learned from Russian media that they were alive and everything was fine. It was a long path for my husband to return home. Very long,» – commented Aliona.
When Vitalii was taken prisoner, his wife was seven months pregnant, and their three-year-old son Dmytro had never seen his father. After returning from captivity, the man spent two weeks in rehabilitation, receiving necessary medical assistance.
Vitalii Hyrenko, the last defender of Zmiinyi, returned to Izmail from Russian captivity
Prisoner exchange and gratitude
As part of the exchange from Russian captivity, 84 citizens returned on August 14, including military personnel and civilians. A feature of this exchange was the liberation of civilians and military Ukrainians who had been detained in temporarily occupied territories before the invasion and illegally imprisoned for long terms.
«During the exchange, a colonel, a border guard from the Mariupol garrison who had fought since 2014, was also released. The fighter was wounded but continued to defend Ukraine,» – noted Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
The State Border Guard Service showed the first footage of Ukrainians returning home, among whom was a woman who had not seen her children for six years.
Vitalii Hyrenko returned home after a long stay in Russian captivity, where he spent more than three years. His wife and children can finally be together again, and he is gradually recovering from a difficult period of life. Ukrainian servicemen returning home from captivity receive the necessary support and assistance for adaptation and rehabilitation.