Near the touch line, President Petro Poroshenko met liberated Ukrainians who were kept in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The President congratulated the heroes on their return and noted that everyone waited for their liberation. He also noted that the heroes are met today by the Ambassador of France and the representative of the German embassy. “Due to the efforts of Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, of our big team, your liberation has become possible,” the Head of State emphasized.

Together with the President, the liberated Ukrainians were met by French Ambassador Isabelle Dumont, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Wolfgang Bindseil, Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak and Volodymyr Zhemchugov who had been liberated earlier.

“Country welcomes her sons, who have passed through hard trials! I hope that all hostages will be released in 2018 and they will come back home to their families and friends. We do not forget about them and we believe that we will meet them soon. I wish their families and relatives strength, hope and belief in our victory!” General Poltorak stressed.