Lviv region soldier returns from Russian captivity after a year missing

A Ukrainian soldier, missing for a year, has been returned from Russian captivity. Ivan Kucher, a 31-year-old defender from the Lviv region, was among 157 Ukrainians released in a prisoner exchange on February 5, 2026. He was captured on April 25, 2022. Kucher, a veteran of the ATO and a senior sergeant in the National Guard's "Donbas" special forces battalion, will now undergo rehabilitation.