The 2 sisters introduced with them a chocolate cake from the close by grocery retailer and put candles on it: two pink hearts, and a neon orange 2 and 5. Their brother had turned 25 in April, however he couldn’t correctly have fun his birthday in a Russian jail.
They introduced alongside different issues, too: a carton of Winston cigarettes, lighters, a bottle of Coca-Cola, some goodies. The issues that he preferred, the issues he had not had for therefore lengthy. The sisters puzzled: Would he nonetheless have his humorousness? Would he nonetheless be the identical?
After which they waited for his or her brother, Yurii Dobriev, like that they had been doing for the previous 18 months, alongside about 150 different individuals who had been additionally ready for his or her family members on Tuesday afternoon in a car parking zone within the Chernihiv area of Ukraine, a pair hours north of Kyiv.
The buses had been coming, they had been instructed, carrying 205 Ukrainian prisoners of conflict. That they had simply been exchanged with 205 Russian prisoners, the sixty fourth prisoner alternate of the conflict, one of many largest to this point.
“We’re very anxious — whether or not he’s actually there or not,” mentioned Anastasiia Dobrieva, 31, one in all Mr. Dobriev’s sisters. “We simply need to see him as quickly as attainable. It’s extremely emotional for us — we haven’t seen him for a yr and a half.”
Every individual within the car parking zone had endured a gap being ripped right into a household. Every reunion would come solely after years of ache.
One launched prisoner would study that his father may nonetheless bear hug him like he was slightly boy. One other already knew that his mom wouldn’t be there; she had died whereas he was in jail. There could be tears of disappointment and pleasure and the occasional epic coincidence. In one of many different current prisoner exchanges, for instance, a feminine soldier was reunited along with her son, a soldier who had additionally been taken prisoner. Neither knew the opposite was being held.
Greater than 4,550 Ukrainian prisoners had already been traded, a uncommon instance of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. However many Ukrainians who’ve been launched have reported incidents of torture, of hunger, of being pressured to sing the Russian anthem daily. In interviews, prisoners of conflict have mentioned they had been instructed repeatedly that Ukraine didn’t exist anymore, that their nation had forgotten about them.
1000’s of Ukrainian prisoners of conflict are nonetheless being held in Russian prisons; the Ukrainian authorities received’t say precisely what number of.
On this Tuesday afternoon, many individuals within the car parking zone got here on blind hope alone. Perhaps their cherished one could be on a bus. And if not, possibly one of many former prisoners would acknowledge an image. So that they held photographs in wrinkled plastic sleeves, usually marked with a reputation, a brigade and a date of disappearance: The brother who disappeared on the primary day of the conflict close to Henichesk. The son who was injured in Kherson on the second day.
“I’ve been ready for my son for therefore lengthy,” mentioned Yuliia Kohut, 55, holding his {photograph}. “Sure, we’ve waited and waited for him, for such a very long time.”
When the ultimate listing of prisoners returning on Tuesday’s buses was made public, although, Vadym Kohut was not on it. His mom began to sob.
Ms. Dobrieva and Inha Palamarchuk, the sisters with the cake, had been instructed that their brother’s title was on the listing. However they knew nothing was sure, not till Mr. Dobriev walked off that bus.
Mr. Dobriev, a soldier within the Nationwide Guard, had gone lacking in a forest within the Luhansk area of jap Ukraine in late 2023. His sisters figured he knew one thing dangerous was going to occur. He wrote to them and to his fiancé, saying that he cherished them, after which he went silent. They scoured social media posts and noticed a video of Mr. Dobriev in subzero temperatures, barely dressed, his palms tied. Not less than, they thought, he was alive.
Over the months, the sisters talked to different launched prisoners who had seen Mr. Dobriev. The Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross confirmed he was a prisoner. They discovered his location from the final prisoner alternate: Returning troopers had acknowledged him. As of April 17, he was within the Sverdlovsk jail colony.
“The blokes instructed us that in jail the meals is horrible — rotten fish, rotten cabbage,” Ms. Dobrieva mentioned.
On Monday, the sisters discovered he was on the listing to be exchanged. They took an in a single day practice from Odesa to Kyiv and drove to the assembly level. At 3:21 p.m. Ukrainian time, the federal government workplace that handles prisoner swaps despatched a textual content message to Ms. Palamarchuk: “Congratulations! Yurii Dobriev was launched from captivity,” it mentioned.
Two ambulances arrived first, every one carrying a soldier who couldn’t stroll. They had been pulled out on stretchers. “Glory to Ukraine,” individuals shouted. “Glory to heroes.” The lads waved, blearily.
Simply earlier than 5 p.m., police sirens might be heard within the distance, because the police escorted the 4 buses carrying the prisoners. The buses quickly pulled into the car parking zone, and the lads poured out. Many had been already draped in Ukrainian flags, after being met by different authorities officers close to the border. Most appeared nearly equivalent. That they had been whittled away within the Russian prisons, their our bodies gaunt, their eyes hole, their heads shaved.
Serhiy Laptiev, 23, had been in captivity for 3 years. He mentioned he was handled decently within the final jail he was in. He discovered that his mom had died by a message from the Crimson Cross, however he stayed alive by eager about his daughter, born simply earlier than he was taken prisoner.
“I had somebody to dwell for,” he mentioned. “I didn’t lose coronary heart.”
As he walked by the gang, individuals surrounded him. Had he seen this soldier? This one? More often than not, Mr. Laptiev shook his head, like when Ms. Kohut requested if he acknowledged the picture of her son.
However her pal, Anzhelika Yatsyna, 52, was on the lookout for her older brother, and this time, there was a lucky coincidence. Mr. Laptiev had shared a cell with Oleh Obodovskyi for the previous two years, in two prisons: Her brother was alive. She burst into tears, not the primary time that day. She grabbed his hand.
“I didn’t need to let go, as a result of he felt like part of me and I used to be part of him,” Ms. Yatsyna mentioned. “I really feel like he handed on part of Oleh to me in that second.”
Then there was Mr. Dobriev, who tumbled off the bus into his sisters like slightly brother. “All proper women, I’m house,” he mentioned. He couldn’t eat the cake or the goodies — earlier than having the ability to eat such treats, he would should be cleared by a physician. However nonetheless, the sisters lit the candles, so he may make a want and blow them out.
“What do I really feel? I’ve no phrases to clarify,” he mentioned.
His sisters hugged him from each side whereas he held the cake. They kissed his cheeks and wouldn’t let go. Ms. Palamarchuk, 38, cried and stroked her little brother’s head. “Let’s go name them,” she mentioned. “Everybody’s ready for you.”
First, he referred to as his mom: “Sure, mother,” he mentioned. “I’m house.” Then he pulled out a pack of Winstons, lit one and laughed.