He was captured when he was 17: Bohdan Kovalchuk returned to Ukraine after 9 years of captivity

His grandmother is already going to Kyiv to see her grandson.

On August 14, a new prisoner exchange took place between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Among those released was Bohdan Kovalchuk, who had spent 9 years in captivity.

This was reported by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak . According to him, the occupiers detained Bohdan Kovalchuk when he was only 17 years old.

“He lived in Yasinovataya, tried to leave for Toretsk to complete his studies and get a diploma. But he was captured at a checkpoint by pro-Russian terrorists. Kovalchuk was accused of allegedly working for the SBU, in particular, of blowing up cars and the building of the occupation “police”. Now he is in Ukraine. He is needed here. The Russians stole so much time from him,” the statement says.

Information about Bogdan’s return from captivity was also confirmed to the publication hromadske by his grandmother Tatyana Gots.

She said that she had already spoken to her grandson. The woman was going to go to Kyiv, where she would meet Bogdan, who had been released from captivity.

Exchange of prisoners

On August 14, a new prisoner exchange took place, as a result of which 84 Ukrainians returned home. Among the released citizens were those who had been in captivity since 2014, 2016 and 2017. The defenders of Mariupol also returned home.

It is known that 51 of those returned were civilians. Among them were both women and men.

Among those released is also sailor Alexander Boychuk , known for his actions in 2014. During the seizure of Crimea, he tried to take one of the Navy ships to mainland Ukraine. He was captured by the enemy in Mariupol during the full-scale Russian invasion.

(C)UNIAN 2025