On July 8, local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky returned home after his visit to Turkey and brought back five former Ukrainian commanders stationed at the Azov Iron and Steel Plant in Mariupol. The move was immediately condemned by Russia, who were supposed to remain in Turkey under last year’s prisoner exchange agreement.
This day is the 500th day since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, and this action is quite symbolic. Zelensky also visited Snake Island, which was abandoned by the Russian army that day.
On the 7th local time, Zelensky held talks with Turkish President Erdogan in Istanbul. “We will return from Turkey and bring our heroes home,” Zelensky said.
The Azov battalion commanders, who are revered as heroes in Ukraine, led last year’s defense of Mariupol. Mariupol was the largest city captured by Russia. Early in the war, the city was nearly razed to the ground and thousands of civilians were killed.
During the three-month siege, Ukrainian defenders held on to the tunnels and bunkers beneath the Azov steel plant until last May, when Kiev ordered them to surrender.
Moscow agreed to release the five in a prisoner exchange brokered by Ankara in September last year, on condition that the commanders remain in Turkey until the end of the war.
Zelensky did not explain why the commanders were now being allowed to return home. TCA has not yet responded to a request for comment.
After returning to Ukraine, Zelensky attended a ceremony in the Ukrainian city of Lviv with several commanders. Zelenskiy thanked Erdogan for his help in securing the commanders’ release and promised to bring all remaining prisoners home.
Before the war, he said, “many people in the world still didn’t understand who we were, who you were, who our heroes were. Now everybody does.”
Russia accused Zelensky of violating a prisoner exchange agreement reached between the two sides last year and said Russia had not been notified. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RIA news agency, “We were not informed about this. According to the agreement, these commanders should remain on Turkish soil until the end of the conflict.”
According to Peskov, the release was the result of intense pressure from Ankara’s NATO allies ahead of next week’s summit, where Ukraine has been eager to receive positive signals about its membership.Return to Sohu to see more
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2023-07-09 03:36:00
