No Azov soldiers in "1000 for 1000" exchange: I don’t believe that only reason is Russians’ unwillingness to release them, - Azov commander Prokopenko
The commander of the 12th Special Forces Brigade of the Azov National Guard, Denys (Redis) Prokopenko, said that not a single Azov soldier had been exchanged as part of the large-scale 1000-for-1000 exchange.
This is stated in his post on his Facebook page, Censor.NET reports.
"Not a single Azov. Among the one thousand Ukrainian prisoners of war who were exchanged today, there is not a single Azov... It looks like a mockery. Those who have been under inhuman pressure in Russian captivity for four years in the worst conditions. Over their relatives, friends and comrades-in-arms. Over those who were given guarantees and who have the absolute right to be in the priority for exchanges, because they were captured not of their own free will, but by order of the higher command," he wrote.
Prokopenko recalled that a few days ago, Ukraine commemorated the third anniversary of the Mariupol garrison's withdrawal from Azovstal, and there were hopes that the announced 1000-for-1000 exchange would include soldiers from the 12th Azov Brigade. However, these hopes were not fulfilled.
"I will never believe in the nonsense that the only reason Azov fighters are not included in most exchanges is because the Russians are unwilling to give them up. If this were the case, neither I nor other Azov fighters would have returned from captivity. The reason is different.
If the established mechanism stops working, it is madness to expect a different result every time. We need to change our tactics," the post says.
According to him, if the Russians refuse to exchange the Azovs for their regular soldiers, then they need to find options, including "offering them someone who means more to them than an Omsk contract soldier".
"Ukraine is full to the brim with Russian agents - all special services are well aware of this, they just need to be given a command," the Azov commander added.
Prokopenko noted that there are options, it is necessary to adapt and start looking for new ways.
"Because not a single Azov man among the 1,000 exchanged is a disgrace for our entire country. I don't believe that the government is interested in returning the Azovs if the same people have been ineffectively handling the exchanges for four years," he concluded.
As reported, on 25 May, the third stage of the 1000 for 1000 exchange took place: Ukraine returned 303 defenders from Russian captivity.
On 24 May, another 307 Ukrainian servicemen returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. This is the second stage of the 1000-for-1000 exchange. The coordination headquarters noted that 27 Mariupol defenders returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity today.
On 23 May, 390 Ukrainians were released: 270 military personnel and 120 civilians.
