A family were told their son was dead. Two years later they spotted his photo in a news report

A family who fled Ukraine when Russia invaded in February 2022 recently learned that the 25-year-old son they thought was dead is very much alive.

Valeriia and Roman Biletskiy, who live in Washington state with their other seven children, said they welcomed their son Roman Jr. saw in a photo of men who had just been released from a Russian prison.

The parents told several local media that they were told on December 30 that their son had been released from a Russian prison.

According to a fundraising campaign founded to honor Roman Jr.’s mother. to help travel to Ukraine to bring him back to the US, Roman Jr. captured in May 2022 while defending civilians in the war-besieged city of Mariupol.

The rest of the Biletskiy family left their home in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region in February 2022. The fundraiser claims Russian troops rolled tanks into their agricultural town before killing their sister-in-law and torturing their three-year-old nephew.

‘The last two and a half years have been tough for us. We were worried about our son all the time,” Valeriia Biletskiy said KING 5 through an interpreter. ‘We were worried about where he was and whether they would take him too far away, whether they would torture him. What if they killed him?’

Roman Jr.’s parents first saw a photo of their son on a bus before receiving a phone call from him. According to his father, his first words were: ‘Mom, don’t cry. Mom, I’m home. [We are] very happy.’

The release of Roman Jr. appears to be part of a recent prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, in which 189 Ukrainians were released. This included military personnel, border guards, national guards and two civilians Associated press reported.

Roman Biletskiy Jr., a Ukrainian soldier who has been a Russian prisoner of war for more than two years, was finally released last week in a prisoner exchange. He is depicted on a bus with dozens of other prisoners of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United Arab Emirates for its help in brokering the deal.

The Russian Defense Ministry said 150 Russian soldiers were released from captivity as part of the exchange.

Roman Jr.’s parents said their son is still recovering from the significant injuries he suffered during the war, which is another reason the family is raising money.

Roman Sr. said KIRO 7 that he struggled to leave his son behind in Ukraine, adding that the family first fled to Poland before upending their lives to resettle on the US west coast.

‘It was very difficult for me to make this decision. But at that moment I understood that we probably won’t go back to Ukraine anytime soon and I was worried about my son, but as a man I respected his decision,” Roman Sr. said.

“I knew he was a warrior. I knew he is strong. I was confident he could take care of himself, even though I was worried.”

At one point, the family was incorrectly told that Roman Jr. was dead. According to the fundraiser, the terrible news came via an official letter from President Zelenskyy.

They later received confirmation that their son was alive in February 2023, when they saw a photo of him in a Russian prison.

Roman Jr., pictured left, is pictured with his fellow soldiers

Roman Jr.’s parents, Valeriia Biletskiy and Roman Biletskiy Sr, have been praying for their son’s safe return since receiving confirmation in February 2023 that he was in a Russian prison.

Roman Jr. is depicted in this undated photo in what appears to be a damaged building

Roman Jr. is depicted next to four of his siblings. He was the only Biletskiy child to remain in Ukraine after the outbreak of war

The public fundraiser for the Biletskiy family to save Roman Jr. back to the US has received $4,820 in donations

The Biletskiys now run an art and gift shop in Orting. The walls of the store are decorated with Valeriia’s art, as well as a portrait of her son.

The income from the Ukrop-Art Gallery supports the family and local groups who want to send aid back to Ukraine.

The public fundraiser for the Biletskiy family has raised $4,820 in donations to date.