I love these times when I can report on the release of hostages or prisoners of war, instead of adding to the numbers of those still imprisoned.

And this week, it was another swap between Russia and Ukraine — each side sending home 185 POWs and 20 civilians, most of whom have been incarcerated since early in the war that began in February 2022.

To add to the excitement, I am able today to delete from my list of known POW’s the group I call “The Azov 12” — a dozen members of the Ukrainian Army’s Azov Brigade, taken prisoner after one of the most brutal standoffs of the war at Mariupol near the Sea of Azov and finally included in this latest exchange.

A joyous day indeed!

*. *. *

But of course, never to be forgotten are the tens — perhaps hundreds — of thousands of those still awaiting release.

Once again, here is the list of the ones I know of:

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Prisoners of War:

The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine
The Azov 12

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Ales Bialiatski
Andrei Chapiuk
Marya Kalesnikava
Uladzimir Labkovich
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In China:

Chenyue Mao (American)

In Russia:

David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You have not been overlooked; please stay strong, and have faith that your turn will come soon.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/5/25