image

epa10329578 A serviceman (C) reunites with relatives after his release from captivity in Ukraine, in Khartsyzsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 26 November 2022. The head of the self-proclaimed DPR, Denis Pushilin and relatives met with nine servicemen from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in Khartsyzsk, who were returned from Ukrainian captivity as part of an exchange between Ukraine and Russia on 24 November. On 24 February 2022, Russian troops entered the Ukrainian territory in what the Russian president declared a 'Special Military Operation', starting an armed conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. EPA/ALESSANDRO GUERRA