After more than three years in Russian captivity, a soldier of the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Danylo, 46-year-old resident of the village of Velykyi Doroshiv, Kulykivska community, Nazar Daletsky, has returned home. He was previously considered dead, and the community even held a funeral for the defender.
The return of the fighter during the next prisoner exchange on February 5 was announced by the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi.
"Our compatriot, who was considered dead for a long time, is returning from captivity. This is Nazar Daletsky, a resident of the village of Velykyi Doroshiv, Kulykivska community," he noted.
Nazar Daletsky was a participant in the ATO, and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he rejoined the ranks of the Armed Forces. He served in the 24th King Danylo Brigade. In May 2022, the soldier stopped communicating and was initially considered missing.
Later, his relatives were informed that he allegedly died on September 25, 2022 near the village of Kurylivka, Kupyansky district, Kharkiv region — in fact, on the front line. It was on this day that the soldier turned another year old.
Information about his death was made public by the Lviv OVA and the Kulykiv community. A funeral with military honors was organized in the village: the coffin was covered with the national flag, the ceremony was accompanied by an orchestra. Photos and videos from the farewell were preserved on the page of the local starostyn district.
However, it later turned out that the soldier was alive.
In July 2025, one of the Ukrainian defenders who had been released from captivity told the family that he had seen Nazar among the prisoners. In August, another fighter confirmed this, and in the fall, a third. The family continued to appeal and believed that the man was alive.
During the latest prisoner exchange, the information was confirmed: Nazar Daletsky returned home after 3 years, 4 months and 12 days of captivity. In the first minutes after his release, he was able to talk to his family by phone.
This is not the first such case in the Lviv region. In May 2025, a soldier named Bohdan Vovk was buried in the Shchyretsk community, who was also considered dead. Later, a video appeared on Russian public forums, where he reported that he was in captivity. Then the Lviv Regional CCC and the Joint Forces announced a possible mistake and informed the military unit.
Nazar Daletsky's story became an example of how, even after years of uncertainty and pain, returning home is possible, and for families, a chance to hug their loved ones again.
