[ad_1]
Kyiv: President Volodymyr Zelensky He brought back five former commanders of the Ukrainian garrison in Mariupol from Turkey on Saturday, a highly symbolic achievement that Russia said breached a prisoner exchange deal engineered last year.
Russia immediately denounced the release. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ankara had promised under the swap to keep the men in Turkey, and complained that Moscow had not been informed.
In honor of the 500th day of the war, Zelensky also visited Snake Island, a promontory in the Black Sea that was captured by Russian forces on the day of the invasion and later abandoned.
Ukraine’s five leaders were honored after they led a fierce three-month defense of Mariupol from the Azovstal steelworks last year, the largest city captured by Russia.
“We will come home from Turkey and bring our heroes home,” said Zelensky, who met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Istanbul on Friday.
Thousands of civilians were killed in Mariupol when Russian forces destroyed the city in the first months of the war. The Ukrainian defenders held out in the tunnels and bunkers under the Azovstal factory, until Kiev finally ordered them to surrender in May last year.
Moscow released some of them in September in a prisoner exchange brokered by Ankara, with terms that required the commanders to remain in Turkey until the end of the war.
“No one told us about this. According to the agreements, these ringleaders were to stay on the territory of Turkey until the end of the conflict,” Peskov told the RIA news agency.
Peskov said the release was the result of intense pressure from Turkey’s NATO allies ahead of next week’s summit of the military alliance, during which Ukraine hopes to receive a positive signal about its future membership.
In his remarks, Zelensky offered no explanation as to why the commanders were now allowed to go home. The Turkish Communications Administration did not respond to a request for comment.
Thanks to the Turkish president
At a later ceremony alongside the men in the western city of Lviv, Zelensky thanked Erdogan for helping secure their release and vowed to bring all remaining prisoners home.
Before the war broke out, he said, “many people in the world still did not understand what we are, what you are, what we expect from us and what our heroes are. Now everyone understands.”
Many Ukrainians applauded the men’s return.
“Finally! Best News Ever. Congratulations Brothers!” Major Maxim Zorin, who is fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on messaging app Telegram.
Referring to last month’s counterattack by Ukrainian forces, Denis Prokopenko, one of the five commanders, told the crowd that his men “will say our word in the battles. The most important thing is that Ukraine has seized the strategic initiative and is advancing.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked 500 days by calling Russia “the only obstacle to a just and lasting peace” and promising to support Kiev “for as long as possible”.
The French Foreign Ministry said the time frame “should make Russia realize that it is at an impasse and immediately stop its illegal war of aggression”.
A recent US pledge of support included plans to supply banned cluster munitions on a large scale. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov promised that the munitions would not be used in Russia.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukrainian forces “continued offensive operations” on Saturday in two sectors in the southeast of the country.
Officials say Ukrainian forces have also recaptured areas around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut – which Russian forces seized in May after a month of fighting.
Russia immediately denounced the release. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ankara had promised under the swap to keep the men in Turkey, and complained that Moscow had not been informed.
In honor of the 500th day of the war, Zelensky also visited Snake Island, a promontory in the Black Sea that was captured by Russian forces on the day of the invasion and later abandoned.
Ukraine’s five leaders were honored after they led a fierce three-month defense of Mariupol from the Azovstal steelworks last year, the largest city captured by Russia.
“We will come home from Turkey and bring our heroes home,” said Zelensky, who met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Istanbul on Friday.
Thousands of civilians were killed in Mariupol when Russian forces destroyed the city in the first months of the war. The Ukrainian defenders held out in the tunnels and bunkers under the Azovstal factory, until Kiev finally ordered them to surrender in May last year.
Moscow released some of them in September in a prisoner exchange brokered by Ankara, with terms that required the commanders to remain in Turkey until the end of the war.
“No one told us about this. According to the agreements, these ringleaders were to stay on the territory of Turkey until the end of the conflict,” Peskov told the RIA news agency.
Peskov said the release was the result of intense pressure from Turkey’s NATO allies ahead of next week’s summit of the military alliance, during which Ukraine hopes to receive a positive signal about its future membership.
In his remarks, Zelensky offered no explanation as to why the commanders were now allowed to go home. The Turkish Communications Administration did not respond to a request for comment.
Thanks to the Turkish president
At a later ceremony alongside the men in the western city of Lviv, Zelensky thanked Erdogan for helping secure their release and vowed to bring all remaining prisoners home.
Before the war broke out, he said, “many people in the world still did not understand what we are, what you are, what we expect from us and what our heroes are. Now everyone understands.”
Many Ukrainians applauded the men’s return.
“Finally! Best News Ever. Congratulations Brothers!” Major Maxim Zorin, who is fighting in eastern Ukraine, said on messaging app Telegram.
Referring to last month’s counterattack by Ukrainian forces, Denis Prokopenko, one of the five commanders, told the crowd that his men “will say our word in the battles. The most important thing is that Ukraine has seized the strategic initiative and is advancing.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked 500 days by calling Russia “the only obstacle to a just and lasting peace” and promising to support Kiev “for as long as possible”.
The French Foreign Ministry said the time frame “should make Russia realize that it is at an impasse and immediately stop its illegal war of aggression”.
A recent US pledge of support included plans to supply banned cluster munitions on a large scale. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov promised that the munitions would not be used in Russia.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukrainian forces “continued offensive operations” on Saturday in two sectors in the southeast of the country.
Officials say Ukrainian forces have also recaptured areas around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut – which Russian forces seized in May after a month of fighting.
[ad_2]
