Azov Regiment about captivity: Ukraine’s leaders allowed us to choose, 300 out of 600 wounded had festering wounds

ALONA MAZURENKO — THURSDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2022, 15:57

Major Bohdan "Tavr" Krotevych, Chief of Staff of the Azov Regiment, said that the command at the Azovstal steel plant [in Mariupol, under siege in the spring of 2022 - ed.] made a decision to surrender because of the medical condition of the wounded, as the wounds of 300 of the 600 wounded began to fester.

Source: briefing by the commanders of the Azov Regiment

Quote: "Commander Denys Prokopenko of the Azov Regiment was in contact with the President of Ukraine, with Commander-in-Chief General Zaluzhnyi, and with the Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, General Budanov.

This entire operation of our exit was coordinated with the state leaders. It was a difficult operation.

It was very difficult for us to make this decision, but at that time we had 600 wounded and 300 of them had wounds that were simply festering. They were slowly dying, so the entire officer corps unanimously decided to [leave the plant and] go into [Russian] captivity so that urgent medical care could be provided to the soldiers who were in the hospital in the bunker. We did not have medicines or equipment, so this decision was made.

Yes, it was agreed with the country's leadership, but the country's leaders gave us the right to choose."

Details: The defenders of the city of Mariupol stated that the Azov Regiment commanders have not communicated with the two released commanders, Denys Prokopenko and Sviatoslav Palamar, who are in Turkey under the protection of the president of that country.

About 2,500 thousand soldiers from Mariupol remain in Russian captivity, including about 700 soldiers of the Azov Regiment.

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