34 Azov soldiers brought back from Russian captivity in latest prisoner swap – Azov commander
Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov brigade, has said that during the last prisoner swap, 34 Azov soldiers who defended Mariupol came back home.
Source: Prokopenko on Facebook
Quote from Redis: "In times of heavy fighting, such news gives the personnel of the 12th Azov Brigade strength and raises morale. Thirty-four other Azov soldiers have come back to Ukraine from Russian captivity."
Details: Prokopenko said that these soldiers defended the city of Mariupol for 86 days, left the premises of the Azovstal Steel Plant under orders and spent two and a half years in Russian captivity. Prokopenko stressed that "thanks to the soldiers of the Mariupol garrison, Ukraine withstood the first attack in the spring of 2022".
"I welcome you back to your homeland and thank you for your resilience and loyalty to the motherland. The personnel of the brigade were looking forward to seeing each of you and did everything possible to replenish the prisoner-of-war exchange pool with captured Russian soldiers," Prokopenko said.
At the same time, he reiterated that about 900 Azov fighters still remain in Russian prisons.
"Our shared task is to bring everyone back," Prokopenko concluded.
Background:
- On the evening of 18 October, it became known that Ukrainian human rights activist and soldier Maksym Butkevych had been released from Russian captivity.
- Later, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that it had conducted the 58th prisoner swap, and 95 more Ukrainian defenders had come back home.
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