A Ukrainian couple, held as POWs by Russia, are finally reunited

Illia Muzyka, 29-year-old, and Alina Panina, 27-year-old, Ukrainian border guard members and former prisoners of war (POWs), play with Alina's service dog 'Roksi', amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Novovolynsk, Volyn region, Ukraine January 23, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

NOVOVOLYNSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - When Illia Muzyka, a 29-year-old border guard in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, was captured soon after Russia's full-scale invasion, he feared never seeing his fiancee again.

Unbeknown to him, Alina Panina was also taken as a prisoner of war (POW) a few weeks later in the same city. Now the couple are finally reunited and beginning to rebuild their lives in western Ukraine.