Ukraine claims the largest prisoner of war exchange since Russia launched its invasion in February, with 144 troops being returned to Ukraine, including dozens of soldiers defending against a Russian encirclement in Ukraine. Mariupol, a southern port city, has become a symbol of Russian and Ukrainian repression. challenge.
While the exchange was shrouded in secrecy, Denis Pushilin, the head of Russia’s proxies in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, said that 144 Russian and proxy forces had been returned home in exchange. 144 Ukrainians.
More than 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in mid-May after holding out for months in bunkers beneath the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Their surrender was carefully negotiated between Russia, Ukraine and international mediators, and marked the end of one of the war’s most brutal battles.
While Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners several times throughout the war – including 17 Ukrainians being released in an exchange announced earlier this week – the fate of the garrisons from Mariupol was one of the most sensitive issues of the war.
When The Ukrainian government issues a surrender directive To end the impasse, the government vowed to do all it could to ensure they would return home.
Better understanding of the Russo-Ukrainian War
Kremlin propaganda has long sought to use the far-right origins of the Azov regiment, which plays a key role in the defense of the city, as evidence for the false claim that the Ukrainian state infected with Nazism.
In his speech In announcing the Russian invasion, Putin promised to “denuclearize Ukraine, as well as bring to justice those who have committed many bloody crimes against civilians.”
After the surrender of the last garrison in Mariupol, some Russian lawmakers quickly called for the death penalty and even proposed a ban on prisoner exchanges that would allow members of the Azov regiment to free.
In statementUkraine’s main intelligence agency said 95 guards of the Azovstal steel plant, including 43 members of the Azov regiment, were released in exchange. Most of the soldiers exchanged were seriously injured, including some with broken bones, burns and amputations, the statement said.
According to Kyrylo Budanov, the director of Ukraine’s defense intelligence service, the couple is included, both of whom are servicemen of the Azov regiment. The husband was arrested in Azovstal. His wife was previously arrested at another location. They have two children.
“Children live without their parents,” Mr. Budanov said. “We insist that the Russians give in to them.” Both are part of the exchange.
According to Budanov, the commanders of the Azov regiment and a unit of marines that fought in Azovstal have been transferred to Moscow, where they are being held at the infamous Lefortovo Prison. Among those being held are Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, head of the Azov regiment at Azovstal, and Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, his deputy, along with Major Serhiy Volyna, commander of the 36th Marine Brigade Motion.
“They say they are conducting investigative activities,” Mr. Budanov said, referring to Russian authorities. “But we understand that they are going through a recruitment process – directing them to Russia’s place in these events. This is war, you get it. “
Mr. Pushilin, the head of Russia’s proxies in the Donetsk region, said that some of the troops handed over to Kyiv were members of “nationalist battalions” and that they were in very bad condition. . “They were seriously injured, some with amputations and other complications,” he said.
The reaction of some military bloggers in Russia was swift and furious, calling the exchange a betrayal.
Yuri Podolyaka, a popular pro-Russian blogger, said it was “a spit in the faces of frontline soldiers and residents of Donbas.”
He said in his channel on Telegram, a social messaging app.
