Nazar Daletskyi's family were sure the soldier had been killed in action. In 2023, they'd buried his body in the village cemetery, in western Ukraine. But Nazar has just phoned his mother, weakened and exhausted - but very much alive.
He's been released from Russian captivity in the latest prisoner swap. My emotions were so strong, the soldier's mother Nataliya told the BBC, still reeling from the shock. The joy of all the family at that first call, captured on video, is overwhelming.
Nataliya asks her son whether he's intact. You have your arms, your legs, everything? she wants to know. My golden child, I have been waiting for you so long. Nazar's cousin, Roksolana, is screaming and jumping for joy in the background.
Nataliya recalls, It was so strange, because my son had died, I buried him, but here's his voice. Can you imagine the emotions of a mother? Happiness. Great happiness. I could not hold back my tears. The miraculous return of Nazar comes as a glimmer of hope in a country that continues to endure the harsh realities of war.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Nazar, who was 42 then, went straight back to the front. In May that first year, Nazar went missing in action, and his family only learned of him being captured through a mysterious phone call a year later.
Initially, they received word that a body had been identified in a morgue in south-eastern Ukraine, identified through DNA matching. The family held a funeral, believing they had lost Nazar forever, but they were jolted back to reality with the news that he was indeed alive.
As they prepare for a reunion, Nataliya is making all of Nazar's favorite homemade meals. I just want more positive outcomes like ours, for other families to get calls and for people to come home, Roksolana expresses hope that Nazar's story will inspire others still searching for their loved ones amidst the ongoing turmoil. As the number of missing persons continues to rise, stories like this provide glimmers of hope in desperate times.
