War in Ukraine
War in UkraineiStock

Ukraine announced on Wednesday that through a prisoner exchange with Russia it had secured the return of 64 Ukrainian soldiers along with a US citizen.

The US national was named as Suedi Murekezi. But his release has not been confirmed by American officials, CBS News reported.

"Sixty-four soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who fought in Donetsk and Lugansk – in particular participated in the defense of the city of Bakhmut – are going home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in a social media post. "It was also possible to free a US citizen who helped our people – Suedi Murekezi."

Murekezi was arrested in eastern Donetsk in June by Russian forces. He was charged with inciting “ethnic hatred” after being accused of attending anti-Russian protests, according to the TASS state news agency.

TASS quoted Murekezi’s lawyers saying that their client worked in a nightclub in Kherson, Ukraine and was not involved in military battles.

His Russian lawyers, friends and family insist he was not a combatant and was not involved in protests, according to reports.

Murekez’s brother, Sele Murekezi, said in an interview with The Guardian that Murekez had worked in Kherson for over two years, adding “he is obviously in danger.”

Sele said that his brother called him on July 7 to say he was in jail in Donetsk, one of the regions annexed by Russia. He added that his brother told him that he was jailed with two other Americans, Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh. The pair were released in September.

"They are using him as a pawn for their own propaganda purposes," Sele told the news outlet.