Ombudsman describes living conditions of the Azov commanders in Turkey

ALONA MAZURENKO — MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2022, 20:27

The Ukrainian Ombudsman said that the commanders of the Azov Regiment, released during the exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, are living in Turkey in good conditions.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Ombudsman / Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), on Ukrinform

Quote from Lubinets: "They are living there in good conditions, under the personal, let’s say, guarantee of the Turkish President. All the conditions for a relatively safe, normal life have been created for them.

And the only condition that was imposed on them as part of the prisoner exchange is a restriction and ban on returning to Ukraine while the war with the Russian Federation continues in our country."

Details: Lubinets added that he was not aware of any restrictions on the movement of the released commanders.

For example, in Turkey, they meet with representatives of Ukraine, among others.

Answering the question of whether the five Azov commanders will be able to communicate with Ukrainian journalists, the ombudsman expressed the opinion that this would happen, but did not outline the terms.

Lubinets noted that there is no division of prisoners into higher or lower priority ones. Ukrainian authorities are also working on bringing back military personnel from Zmiinyi (Snake) Island as well as the National Guardsmen captured in the Chornobyl zone and our other defenders.

Officials are also dealing with gaining the release of civilian hostages from captivity, some of whom have received prison sentences of 15, 17 or 19 years in the Russian Federation.

Background: 

• On 21 September, as part of a prisoner swap with the Russian occupiers, Ukraine succeeded in freeing 215 Ukrainian defenders.
• Among those released there are border guards, police officers, marines, National Guardsmen, soldiers of the Territorial Defence Forces, customs officers, and civilians. In addition, Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, Serhii "Volyna" Volynskyi, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, Oleh Khomenko [military leaders who took part in defending the Azovstal steel plant] were also released. Mykola "Frost" Kushch and Kostiantyn "Fox" Nikitenko, whom the occupiers had wanted to execute, were set free as well. 
• Five commanders of Ukrainian units that defended Mariupol against Russian forces are currently in Turkey, under the personal protection guarantee provided by President Recep Tayip Erdoğan.
• Russia got back Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian businessman and pro-Russian politician who has family ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with 55 Russian soldiers.

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