Turkey violated agreements by freeing commanders who defended the Russian-captured Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
Peskov, quoted by the RIA news agency, said that under the terms of the exchange of prisoners, the militants had to remain in Turkey until the end of the war. According to him, Russia was not informed about their release.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, returning home after a visit to Turkey, brought with him five commanders of the former garrison that protected the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, forced to live in Turkey under the terms of the exchange of prisoners last year.
The commanders, who are considered heroes in Ukraine, led the defense of Mariupol, the largest city captured by Russia during its invasion, last year. Thousands of civilians were killed in Mariupol as Russian forces ravaged the city during a three-month siege.
“Ukrainian military personnel Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynskyi, Oleg Khomenko, Denys Shlega will finally be with their relatives,” Zelenskyy said, publishing a video showing the return of Azovstal defenders to Ukraine.
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Source: Hot News
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