Azovstal commanders promise to have their say in battle
The commanders of the defenders of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works who have returned to Ukraine have pledged to continue the fight and to have their say in battle.
Source: Azov Regiment Commander Denys Prokopenko in Lviv, answering journalists' questions
Quote: "I am deeply convinced that the army is a joint effort, and from this day onwards, we will continue the fight together with you. We will definitely have our say in battle.
The main thing is that the Ukrainian army has seized the strategic initiative on the front line, and every day we advance, destroy the enemy, and liberate temporarily occupied territories.
And we will do everything possible and impossible to speed up this process so that the war reaches its logical conclusion."
Details: Asked whether they would go back to the front, Prokopenko answered: "Of course. That's why we returned to Ukraine. This is our main goal."
Describing their stay in Türkiye, Sviatoslav Palamar, Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment, paraphrased a poem by Lesia Ukrainka: "We are paraplegics with sparkling eyes, great in spirit, small in strength. We feel the wings of eagles behind us, but we were chained to Turkish land."
"We have returned, and we will continue to do our work. We are military, we swore an oath," Palamar said.
Background:
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Saturday that the military commanders who defended the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works and then stayed in Türkiye after being released from Russian captivity in a prisoner swap were returning to Ukraine from Türkiye.
- The president’s press service later confirmed that five commanders from Azovstal had been brought back to Ukraine on Saturday following negotiations with Türkiye.
- Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine and Türkiye of violating agreements after five commanders who defended the Azovstal steelworks were brought back to their homeland.
- On Saturday evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Lviv together with the commanders who defended Azovstal.
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