Suedi Murekezi, a U.S. Air Force veteran whose family says he was captured by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine earlier this year, has been freed in a prisoner swap, a senior Ukrainian official announced Wednesday.


Murekezi, who has lived in Ukraine since 2018, was taken by pro-Russian forces in the southern city of Kherson in early June, according to his brother Sele Murekezi, who added that he had been falsely accused of taking part in pro-Ukrainian protests.


Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential office, wrote on Twitter Wednesday that Murekezi was released alongside 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He described Murekezi as "a U.S. citizen who helped our people." The bodies of four other Ukrainians were also repatriated, Yermak added.


Sele Murekezi said that when he spoke to his brother in July, he mentioned that he was being held in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, alongside two other U.S. nationals.


Air Force veteran detained by pro-Russian separatists, brother says


Born in Rwanda, Suedi Murekezi came to the United States as a teenager and went on to spent eight years in the Air Force, according to his brother. He later moved to Ukraine and was based in Kherson — the first major city to fall to Russian forces following the Feb. 24 invasion, and which was recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces.


In September, several foreign nationals, including two U.S. veterans, five Britons and a Moroccan national, were among the 300 prisoners released by Russia in a prisoner swap. Three of the foreign prisoners had previously been sentenced to death.


A total of 1,456 prisoners have been released from Russian captivity or Russia-controlled territory since the conflict began, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war, told The Post on Wednesday.


As the pace of prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine has accelerated in recent weeks, reports have emerged of the abuse detainees faced while in Russian captivity.


One prisoner of war told The Post he was beaten so badly that his ribs were broken and his kidneys were badly injured.


As Ukraine and Russia step up prisoner exchanges, scarred POWs tell of abuse


The news of the latest prisoner swap comes days after WNBA star Brittney Griner was freed by Moscow in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The United States is also trying to secure the release of another U.S. national, Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia for four years and has been sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges that Washington has denounced as bogus.

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