Ukrainain commanders of Mariupol defense together with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Head of Office Andriy Yermak flying back to Ukraine. Photo via Andriy Yermak
According to the terms of the POWs exchange, they had to be held on the territory of the neutral state, while lowe-rank officers and soldiers were exchanged directly between Ukraine and Russia.
Five servicemen who returned to Ukraine on 8 July 2023 are commanders of the Azov regiment Denys Prokopenko, Sviatoslav Palamar, and Oleh Khomenko, commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade Serhiy Volynskyi, and commander of the 12th brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard Denys Shleha.
They all returned to Ukraine together with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was on a working visit to Türkiye on 8 July 2023.
Five Ukrainian commanders who were defending Mariupol have just returned to Ukraine from Turkey together with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy
After Mariupol was occupied on 20 May 2022, they spent four months in Russian captivity and then were transferred to a third country as… pic.twitter.com/VerRjUCiPQ
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 8, 2023
In total, nearly 2500 Ukrainian servicemen surrendered to Russian captivity from the besieged Azovstal factory in Mariupol. Ukrainian authorities said the conditions of the surrender were agreed and indeed, 500 POWs were exchanged in the coming months, including the five top commanders. However, nearly 2000 Azovstal defenders still remain in Russian captivity. It remains unclear which were the conditions of the surrender and what of them Russia fulfilled.
Tags: Azov Regiment, Azovstal, Mariupol, Mariupol defenders