Ukraine brings back 20 Azov fighters from Russian captivity as part of prisoner exchange
Photo: Ukraine brings back 20 Azov fighters from Russian captivity (facebook.com/DenysProkopenko)
During today’s prisoner exchange, 20 servicemen of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine Azov returned home from Russian captivity, according to a Facebook post by Azov Brigade commander Denys Prokopenko ("Redis").
He congratulated his brothers-in-arms on returning home and thanked them for the resilience, courage, and strength they demonstrated every day under extremely difficult conditions.
"I thank the President of Ukraine for his attention to the issue of prisoner exchanges, fighters from various units who replenish our exchange fund, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, military intelligence, the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families, and all countries contributing to the negotiation process," the Azov commander added.
Prisoner exchange
Today, May 15, Ukraine and Russia carried out the first stage of a large-scale 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange. Ukraine managed to bring home 205 Ukrainians.
Those released include privates, sergeants, and officers. Most of them had been held in Russian captivity since 2022.
They defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at Azovstal, as well as on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kyiv directions, and at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The youngest released defender is 21, while the oldest is 62.
Many of the released Ukrainians are returning with serious injuries, damaged health, and severe psychological consequences. Some of the defenders evacuated from Azovstal had been wounded.
