After two years, a shriek of joy from the Ukrainian prisoner's wife
These Ukrainian prisoners of war, the wounded, the sick and the disabled, were the latest to be released in a series of prisoner swaps with Russia, the only concrete measure agreed at negotiations overseen by the Americans that began in Istanbul last month.
There were no joyful reunions. All those swapped for their Russian counterparts were immediately ushered into the hospital by waiting medical staff. President Zelensky welcomed them home as heroes but said 'all require medical treatment' being 'severely wounded and seriously ill'.
A day earlier, Russia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of 1,200 each of their fallen after an ugly war of words over who was holding up proceedings. After a prisoner exchange fell through last week, Russia drove refrigerated lorries to the border and flung open the doors to show piled up body bags containing dead Ukrainian soldiers — a move denounced by Zelensky as 'a dirty political and propaganda game'.
The exchanges, which restarted this week with the youngest prisoners of war from both sides, have become magnets of desperate hope and grief for the families of the missing. Outside the hospital mothers, fathers, sisters, wives, girlfriends and children jostled to hold up photographs of their loved ones, calling out names, battalions and where the missing were last seen.
Suddenly there was a scream from the crowd. 'Denys, Denys!' a young woman shouted, holding her toddler daughter. It was the first she had learnt that her husband, missing in action for two years, was alive. Medical staff caught her as she collapsed and was put into a wheelchair. She was the only family member allowed inside as the soldiers underwent examination and debriefing before their transfer to rehabilitation.
The walking wounded, who arrived later by bus, were less willing to be rushed inside. Shaven-headed, they stood on the ramp outside the hospital door, blinking in the sunlight as their eyes raked over the photographs of their missing comrades held aloft by the crowds. One sadly shook his head as he looked at face after face. Another held out his hands and studied each photograph closely. 'Yes,' he said. 'This one I know.'
At the sight of a returned prisoner at a fifth floor window, the crowd surged, shouting out for information. From the window, he shouted the phone number of his former cellmate's mother which he had memorised to let her know he was still alive. 'He is from Azov,' he shouted. 'He was in my cell.'
Ukraine nor to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is tasked under the Geneva Convention with facilitating communications between PoWs and their families.
• 'They want to destroy everything' — the families fleeing Putin's brutal offensive
'These men are not just in a very bad condition, they have been held incommunicado for up to three years,' said Petro Yatsenko, spokesman for Ukraine's Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. 'They do not know anything that has happened in the war. They don't know if Ukraine is completely broken.'
EPA
On their medical treatment in captivity, he cited one prisoner released earlier this week, who told a Russian military doctor he was experiencing excruciating pain in his foot. 'The doctor said, 'Show me where' and he showed him and the doctor beat him right in that place,' he said. 'The doctor did that.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- The Guardian
Grandparents are carers out of love – and necessity
I look after my grandchildren – at least a few hours for one day a week, often more ('There's an overwhelming bond of love': the grandparents whose kids rely on them to raise a family, 29 July). I love them deeply, and want to offer them whatever steadiness I can, while I can. But love alone isn't what holds this together. I also care for them because their parents, like so many others, are stretched to the edge. Childcare is unaffordable. Work is relentless. There's little left in reserve. Many grandparents step in not as a choice, but as the only available buffer in a fraying system. But that help comes at a cost. Caring for young children is tiring at any age; for older adults, after a full day or more, the next day is often a write-off too, which seems to be something almost no policy takes into account. This reflects the gradual withdrawal of social responsibility from care, and the assumption that families will absorb the shock. We're seeing the effects of this every day through exhaustion, silence and strain carried behind closed doors. As a systemic psychotherapist, I try to pay attention to patterns; what holds people together, and what pulls them apart. One pattern I see is that the work of care has become more vital, yet less visible. Grandparents, like many others, are holding families together behind the scenes. But we rarely speak about it, and policy almost never accounts for it. In this era of rapidly evolving climate disruption and growing social fragility, care is the connective tissue that keeps communities alive. If we fail to recognise and support it, we weaken the very systems we'll need to face what's Hugh PalmerPocklington, East Yorkshire I read your article with great interest as the grandparent of four children, but was sad that you did not take the opportunity to comment on the benefits and burdens for those of us who care full-time for our grandchildren. Over half of the estimated 140,000 children in kinship care are with grandparents full-time, and we are most definitely 'taking on a level of grandparenting that looks a lot more like parenting'. We do miss out on 'just being Granny' as we perform the parenting role with the grandchildren in our care. One of the losses I feel as we parent our 12-year‑old grandson towards adulthood is that he misses out on grandparents and we miss out on grandparenting. Unlike part-time grandparent carers, we don't have less anxiety as we deal with loss of work and income, lack of support, and difficult relationships with biological parents. And our chances of pursuing our own retirement plans are not limited – they're gone. We also struggle with the cost, the sense of obligation and the feeling of having no choice, but to a much greater extent. And we most certainly 'plug the gaps of a system not fit for purpose'. In our case, this is the children's social care system. The alternative forms of care for our grandchildren continue to have persistent deficits that lead to very poor life chances. There are so many benefits to us in terms of the loving relationships we have with our grandchildren, but the deficits are often serious and damaging to our mental health and, sometimes, the stability of our kinship and address supplied When I read about grandparents caring for and loving their grandchildren I feel such utter sadness and envy. Not because my children don't have grandparents but because their grandparents aren't interested in being around them. It's a certain kind of heartache, not to mention the practical side of living with the exhaustion of not having help and having a disabled child. I know they are busy, they have their lives to live, and I understand their desire to protect that. But I will never understand their indifference to their grandchildren and our situation. Everyone who has parents who are involved in their grandchildren's lives are the luckiest people – I hope they know and address supplied Surely grandparents being heavily involved in child raising is only new for the middle classes? Nans at the school gate was absolutely the norm when I was growing up in the 80s, and as a mother of 10, my mother's Mam always had a houseful of HoughtonNewport Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Brit tourist, 38, dies after Turkey hair transplant goes wrong with probe launched into clinic
A BRIT tourist has died after undergoing a hair transplant in Turkey, sparking a police investigation into the private clinic where the procedure was carried out. The 38-year-old flew to Istanbul and had the five-hour operation on Monday at the CINIK clinic in the city's Besiktas district. 2 But shortly after the surgery, the tourist became seriously unwell and was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, according to Turkish outlet OdaTV. His body was later taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy before being repatriated to the UK. Police have launched a probe, treating the case as a possible 'reckless homicide'. Staff at the clinic — including the surgeon who performed the hair transplant, the anaesthesiologist and nurses — have already been quizzed by officers, it is understood. An FCDO spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Turkey and are in contact with the local authorities." The tragedy comes amid a boom in 'medical tourism' to Turkey, which now accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the global hair transplant market thanks to its cheaper, high-quality procedures. Turkish Healthcare Travel Council says more than one million people travel to the country each year for hair restoration treatments. According to Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic, numbers expected to climb to 1.1 million in 2025, the Daily Mail reports. It follows the shocking death of 58-year-old British mum Anne Towlson, who passed away last year after a botched cosmetic surgery trip to Istanbul. Mrs Towlson, from Leicestershire, had flown to Turkey in April 2024 for a pre-planned tummy tuck and liposuction at Green Park Hospital in Pendik. When she arrived, doctors persuaded her to also undergo an arm tuck in a 'last-minute decision', her inquest heard. is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
British tourist, 38, dies after undergoing a hair transplant in Turkey as probe launched into clinic
A British patient who underwent a hair transplant in Turkey has died after falling ill following the surgery. The 38-year-old man flew to Istanbul and had the cosmetic procedure on Monday at a private clinic called CINIK in the city's Besiktas neighbourhood, Turkish news outlet OdaTV reports. Shortly after the surgery, which lasted five hours, the Brit became unwell and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Th British tourist's body was taken to the Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy, and an investigation was launched into the incident, with the police looking at his death as a possible 'reckless homicide'. Clinic staff, including the surgeon who performed the hair transplant, the anaesthesiologist and nurses have been interviewed by police, it is understood. Following the autopsy, the Brit's body was repatriated back to the UK, according to local media. An FCDO spokesperson told Daily Mail: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Turkey and are in contact with the local authorities.' Turkey has become a popular destination for hair transplants, representing nearly 60 per cent of the global hair transplant tourism market thanks to its affordable, high-quality procedures. The Turkish Healthcare Travel Council reports over 1 million people travel to Turkey annually for hair restoration treatments, and according to Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic, the country is expected to receive 1.1 hair transplant patients in 2025. His death comes after a British mother who made a 'last minute decision' to have plastic surgery in Turkey died from a mystery illness. Anne Towlson, 58, was found dead at home with open wounds to her armpits and triceps after they did not heal properly from arm tuck surgery weeks earlier. Shortly after the procedure, Mrs Towlson's hand was said to have 'swelled up like a balloon and was seeping a clear liquid' and was admitted to hospital three times before eventually returning to the UK nine days after the surgery. But the problems persisted and in the days before she died, Mrs Towlson complained that the pain in her arm was 'killing her'. She also sent a video to the Istanbul hospital that carried out the surgery showing her 'weeping and swollen' arm and was told it would be shown to a doctor - but she never received any help. Following her tragic death last year, a coroner has issued a stark warning to Brits about the 'dangers' of travelling to Turkey for cosmetic surgery. At an inquest earlier this year, assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, Isobel Thistlethwaite, said Mrs Towlson had travelled to Turkey in April 2024 where she underwent a pre-planned tummy tuck and liposuction. When she arrived at the Green Park Hospital in Pendic, Istanbul, she was told she could have an arm tuck surgery as well, and agreed to the procedure in a 'last-minute decision', her inquest heard. Immediately after her surgery, Mrs Towlson complained that her 'right arm was hurting' and her 'compression garments were too tight'. Her right hand was said to have 'swelled up like a balloon and was seeping a clear liquid', the inquest was told. She stayed in hospital for three days before returning to a hotel where she found she was leaking a 'yellow and slightly odorous fluid' from her arms which would 'stain the hotel pillows', the inquest heard. Mrs Towlson, who was using WhatsApp to communicate with the Turkish medics, returned to the hospital twice where she was given antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, painkillers and a cream to take with her, the inquest was told. She flew home to Manchester Airport on May 3, nine days after the surgery. From May 4 to the time she died, her internet search history included 'infected stitches symptoms', and 'armpit yeast infection symptoms', the inquest heard. On May 7, she sent a video of her arm and armpit with a 'sticky yellow and white pus present' to the hospital. 'They responded saying that they would show the video to a doctor, that was the last WhatsApp communication received from the hospital,' the coroner's report said. On May 11, Mrs Towlson was seen by her neighbour and was said to be communicating with her daughter. She told her daughter her 'tummy was ok' but her arm was 'killing her', the inquest heard. Six days later, the mother was found dead at her home.
