Zelenskyy reacts to the return of 144 Ukrainian PoWs from Russian captivity

Alona Mazurenko  – Wednesday, 29 June, 2022, 23:10

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the return of 144 Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity "optimistic" news and thanked the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine for the result.

Source: Presidential video address

Quote: "And another optimistic and very important piece of news: 144 Ukrainian service personnel have been returned home from Russian captivity. 59 fighters from the National Guard, 30 from the Navy, 28 from the army, 17 border guards, 9 territorial defence soldiers, and 1 policeman. 

The oldest of those released is 65 years old and the youngest is 19. 

In particular, 95 Azovstal defenders are returning home. 

I am grateful to the Chief Intelligence Directorate and to everyone who worked for this result. But let’s talk about this later. We will do everything to bring every Ukrainian man and woman home."

Background: On 29 June, as part of the largest prisoner exchange since 24 February, 144 soldiers, including 95 defenders of Azovstal, returned to Ukraine.

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, who is responsible for coordinating the exchange of the Ukrainian soldiers who defended Azovstal, said that he hopes to secure the release of a "significant number" of Ukrainian prisoners of war "in the very near future."

More Background:

• The Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol, who were transported from the Azovstal steelworks premises in May, are being held in a penal colony in the Donetsk region. Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Ukrainian government claimed that 2,449 Ukrainian servicemen were being held as prisoners of war in Olenivka.
• The defenders of Mariupol entered Russian-controlled territory on 16-20 May. According to the Russian side, 2,439 fighters came out of the Azovstal bunkers. Representatives of the Red Cross registered the Ukrainian defenders as prisoners of war.
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the Mariupol garrison had fulfilled its combat mission and that the commanders had been ordered to save the lives of their personnel. The Ministry of Defence explained that there was no other way to save the defenders from Azovstal, except to come out to the Russians without their weapons.

On 19 June, Russian media reported that the commanders of the Azov Regiment were taken from the occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast to Russia for "investigative actions." Prior to that, the commander of the Azov National Guard Regiment, Denys Prokopenko, handed over his command to Major Mykyta Nadtochii.