US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States appreciated Ukraine’s inclusion of US citizens in its prisoner of war negotiations, and that he had called Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud of Saudi Arabia to thank him for his country’s role in the exchange.

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Later on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said they had secured the release of a total of 215 prisoners, including the foreign fighters and the commanders of the Azov Battalion, who defended Mariupol, Ukraine, from within a sprawling steel plant before surrendering to Russian forces in May. The prisoner swap is the largest such exchange since the start of the war.

Five British citizens who had been held in Ukraine by Russian-backed proxies have been released, Prime Minister Liz Truss said, calling it “hugely welcome news”. Truss thanked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Saudi Arabia for their help securing the citizens’ release.

“Russia must end the ruthless exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political ends,” she said.

The Saudi ministry said it was working to return those released to their home countries, which also included Morocco, Sweden and Croatia.

Robert Jenrick, a Conservative member of the British parliament, wrote on Twitter that Aiden Aslin was among the prisoners who was released. Aslin’s home town of Newark is in Jenrick’s district.

Aslin was one of three men — including Shaun Pinner, a British citizen, and Brahim Saadoun, a Moroccan — who were sentenced to death in June by a court in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine. Prosecutors had accused the three men of being mercenaries and terrorists who were seeking to violently overthrow the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, one of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine that Russia has recognised.

“Aiden’s return brings to an end months of agonising uncertainty for Aiden’s loving family in Newark who suffered every day of Aiden’s sham trial but never lost hope,” Jenrick wrote. “As they are united as a family once more, they can finally be at peace.”

One of the freed Americans, Drueke, is an avid hiker who before the war had been living on family land in rural western Alabama while hoping to plan “a new adventure” with his Mastiff rescue, Diesel, according to a previous statement by his family.

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In April, before leaving for Ukraine, Huynh told WAAY-TV, an ABC affiliate in northern Alabama, that he had decided to travel to Ukraine and fight after seeing 18-year-olds fighting for their freedom.

Huynh studied robotics. He had been in the Marines for four years, entering right after graduating from high school.

“I know there’s a potential of me dying,” he told WAAY-TV. “I’m willing to give my life for what I believe is right.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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