Ukraine says two pilots held in Russia released

two military pilots caught by Moscow’s forces last month and held in Russia have been delivered, without giving details of their return said Ukraine on Thursday

“Two Ukrainian pilots who were held captive by Russian occupiers were released,” Ukraine’s defense ministry said in a statement on social media.

It recognized the men as Ivan Pepelyashko and Oleksiy Chyzh and said they had been caught toward the beginning of March in a town in Ukraine’s northern Chernigiv district.

The statement said the pilots were held in several locations before being brought to the Kursk region of southern Russia, where they were held with eight other Ukrainian military personnel.

The status of the other eight captives was not immediately clear.

The statement cited Chyzh as saying they were subjected to hostile interrogations and denied medical treatment while in captivity.

“We were forced to record propaganda videos. If we refused, they threatened to stop bandaging our comrades’ wounds,” the statement quoted him as saying.

The defense ministry statement said the men met with minister Kirill Budanov on their return to Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have directed a few detainee trades since Moscow’s forces  started their intrusion of their supportive of popularity based neighbor in late February.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week proposed to trade supportive of Kremlin investor Viktor Medvedchuk, who was captured by Kyiv subsequent to getting away from house capture, for Ukrainians caught by Russia.