Key Highlights:

• The history teacher from Balta Lyceum No. 3 is finally home after 800 days of imprisonment;
• Alexander Lonchak, head of the education department of Odesa OVA, thanked everyone who made the hero's return possible;
• Vladimir Zhilenko will now undergo treatment and rehabilitation.

This incredible news was shared on Facebook by Alexander Lonchak, head of the education department of Odesa OVA.

He described Vladimir Zhilenko as a “person who has endured the darkness of war while maintaining dignity and faith.” He volunteered to go to the front and was captured in 2023 during the battles for Avdiivka, sustaining serious injuries. No information about him was available until now.

“800 days… It feels like an eternity. Endless waiting. Living without breathing fully. Waking up every morning asking, ‘Will today be the day?’” wrote Alexander Lonchak.

Now he is home, our Teacher, our Hero, with weary eyes and unhealed wounds but with immense inner strength. He has survived captivity to step back on his native Ukrainian soil.

To once again teach the children of Podillia about courage and history, and to become an example for them,” Lonchak stated.

The official expressed sincere gratitude to everyone who made it possible for Vladimir Zhilenko and other prisoners of war to return to Ukraine. Now the teacher who has returned will need treatment and rehabilitation.