Due to the efforts of government agencies, volunteers and international partners, Ukraine managed to return another 17 citizens from the temporarily occupied territories. These are families from, in particular Kherson region and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said.

"Thanks to the efforts of government agencies, employees of our Office, volunteers and international partners, we managed to return another 17 citizens of Ukraine from occupation... Among those who were helped: a man who lost a limb due to shelling... Three families from Kherson region, who were under occupation for a long time... A married couple from Crimea who left the peninsula because of their love for Ukraine," Lubinets said in Telegram channel on Friday.

In addition, the following were able to leave the occupied territory: an elderly woman with her daughter, "who independently made a difficult journey through the territory of the aggressor country to return home;" an elderly man with a disability; a 77-year-old woman who was evacuated from the active combat zone; a man who spent almost three years in the occupied territory; two women who "waited for a long time for the opportunity to return to the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government," the ombudsman said. "We continue to work so that every Ukrainian can return to their native land," Lubinets added.