Ex-spokeswoman of the Donetsk border detachment, Valeria Subotina, released from captivity
Ukraine has returned another 100 Ukrainian soldiers from captivity: 80 men and 20 women. Among those, nine are officers, the rest are privates and sergeants, reports the press office of the UAF General Staff.
Among those released is the ex-spokeswoman of the Donetsk border detachment, Azov Regiment paramedic Valeria "Nava" Karpylenko-Subotina. During the battles for Mariupol, Valeria was reporting on Facebook about what was happening at Azovstal and the working conditions the medics were facing.
"Her love story is known throughout Ukraine. She and her husband were defending Mariupol from the occupiers to the last. Valeria got married within the walls of Azovstal. Three days later, she lost her lover, as her husband died from the occupiers' bullets. She was taken prisoner by the Russians, spending almost a year in captivity. Now she has come back – to her homeland, Ukraine!" the Mariupol City Council noted.
Valeria Karpylenko is a writer, Azovstal defender, formerly a professor at the Mariupol State University, has a PhD in social communications.
On May 5, 2022, at Azovstal, she married her beloved – border guard Andriy Subotin. They exchanged wedding rings made of foil.
Andriy died on May 7, 2022. On May 17, 2022, as the Ukrainian army was withdrawing from Azovstal, Valeria was taken prisoner.
For a long time, Valeria's relatives knew little to nothing about her fate. In May 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Captain Valeria Karpylenko with the medal "For Military Service to Ukraine".
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