Borders guards meet defenders of Zmiinyi Island after their release from captivity

The border guards of the Izmail detachment have met the defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island after they spent nine months of captivity.

Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"The border guards of the Izmail detachment, together with the relatives of the Heroes and the community, met three comrades who stayed in Russian captivity for nine months," the report reads.

They were reportedly freed on November 24, along with three more border guards from the Donetsk and Luhansk detachments.

After the release, the servicemen underwent rehabilitation and received medical and psychological assistance, the report said.

The agency said the servicemen would return to service in the near future.

Russian troops captured Zmiinyi Island on the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Initially, there were reports that after Russian warships and aircraft attacked the island, its infrastructure was destroyed and contact with Ukrainian border guards was lost. On February 28, the Ukrainian Navy reported that the marines and border guards captured by the Russian occupiers on Zmiinyi Island were alive. They returned from captivity in November.

On June 30, the Ukrainian military completely liberated Zmiinyi Island and forced the invaders to leave it. Russia's Defense Ministry described the escape of its soldiers from the island as a "gesture of goodwill."