On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that prominent paramedic Yuliya Payevska, aka Tayra, had been freed from Russian captivity.
In a video posted on Telegram, he said: “I can announce today that we managed to free from captivity Tayra – Ukrainian paramedic Yuliya Payevska. I am grateful to all who worked to achieve this result. Tayra is already home. We will go on working to bring everybody back.”
Payevska was captured by Russian forces together with her driver in Mariupol in mid-March, where she’d been working as a paramedic, helping to evacuate injured soldiers and civilians.
Her husband believes she was taken to Russia. A propaganda video featuring her was carried by some pro-Kremlin Russian TV channels.
News of her release was welcomed by many Ukrainian commentators:
“It’s hard to imagine what Tayra has been through, but it’s so great that she is alive and home!” film director Iryna Tsilyk said.
Source: BBC