There were victims in Sumy and Cherkasy oblasts following Russian night strikes

One person was killed in Sumy Oblast and another in Cherkasy Oblast following Russian nighttime attacks, according to the Cherkasy Oblast Military Administration and the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor’s Office.

In Cherkasy Oblast, a 63-year-old woman sustained fatal injuries during a large-scale strike on the Uman district. Despite being transported to a medical facility in critical condition, she later succumbed to her injuries. Additionally, a critical infrastructure facility in Cherkasy district was targeted, and a Shahed drone hit a private enterprise's warehouse.

Russian forces conducted an airstrike on Shostka hromada in Sumy Oblast on the night of 18-19 October, using guided bombs and Shahed drones, damaging infrastructure and injuring seven civilians.  Rescue teams discovered the body of a man under the rubble of a damaged building in the city of Shostka. The airstrike on the city also injured eight people, according to updated reports. Five firefighters were wounded.

Prisoner swap: 95 more defenders come home

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War has completed its 58th prisoner swap with Russia, successfully bringing 95 Ukrainian defenders home, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Coordination Headquarters on Telegram.

Zelenskyy emphasized the significance of each exchange, saying, "Ninety-five of our people have come home again. Soldiers who defended Mariupol, the Azovstal Steel Plant, and regions such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson. Every time Ukraine rescues its people from Russian captivity, we bring the day of freedom for all captives closer."

A special aspect of this exchange was the release of 28 Ukrainians sentenced to long prison terms and 20 serving life sentences in Russia. Among the freed individuals were soldiers, National Guardsmen, sailors, border guards, and members of other defense units. Many of the released prisoners suffer from serious illnesses, severe injuries, and weight loss due to torture and malnutrition. So far, 3,767 people have been freed from Russian captivity through prisoner swaps. The Coordination Headquarters expressed gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for its assistance in arranging this latest exchange.

Released activist Butkevych says prisoner swap was complete surprise

Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist Maksym Butkevych shared that he was unaware of his release during the latest prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine until he was already in transit. The 58th exchange, conducted on Oct. 18, saw the return of 190 detainees, including Butkevych, who had been serving a 13-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.

Speaking to the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske, Butkevych explained, "No, I didn't know, it was unexpected. Yesterday morning, after the inspection, they told me I was leaving in half an hour, but they didn't say where. I thought I was being relocated, not exchanged. We only found out about the swap on the way—it was a double surprise." Butkevych was among 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war freed, including 34 members of the Azov Regiment, which defended Mariupol in the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Before the war, Butkevych worked with a Ukrainian NGO supporting internally displaced persons and collaborated with the UN Refugee Agency. He joined the Ukrainian military after the Russian invasion in February 2022. Captured in the summer of 2022, he was sentenced in March 2023 by Russian-controlled courts to 13 years in prison on fabricated charges of firing a grenade launcher at an apartment building. Amnesty International condemned the trial as a "grave miscarriage of justice." Butkevych had been held in a penal colony in Krasnyi Luch, Luhansk Oblast, for much of his captivity.

Reflecting on his release, Butkevych expressed hope that it would inspire other imprisoned Ukrainians. "I hope this will give hope to others," he said. "I was released together with a colleague from a colony where more than 40 prisoners are held on fabricated charges. It is important they know that release is possible." According to Ukraine's General Staff, many of the prisoners freed in this exchange had received long-term or life sentences, highlighting the significance of the operation.