Ukraine’s parliament speaker meets with liberated Azovstal defenders in Türkiye

Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, has met with military commanders and the defenders of Azovstal steelworks in Türkiye.

They have been freed from Russian capture and are now under the protection of the Turkish government, the press release reports.

The picture includes Azov Regiment commander Denys Propopenko, his deputy Sviatoslav Palamar, marine commander Serhiy Volynskiy, and members of the National Guard, Oleh Homenko and Denys Shleh.    

The head of the parliament thanked Türkiye for the help in returning the defenders.

Stefanchuk said that the defenders are determined to continue their fight and want to return home.

The founder of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders Kateryna Prokopenko said that the commanders of the Azov Regiment live in a closed facility but have access to information.

They are in a safe place, so luckily they were not affected by the earthquakes.

I now remain in a situation when partners of war prisoners can write to me, even threaten me, saying, "your husband is at the resort." It is not true. They are in a closed regime facility. Even we don't know where exactly. They are not at a resort or at sea.

They have a certain schedule, regulated calls. They are not subjected to torture, as in Russia, but, nevertheless, they are not completely free.

We all understand that if they had remained in captivity longer in those conditions, there would have been inevitable processes with their condition, she said.

Stefanchuk said the government is working on freeing other Ukrainian warfighters who have been captured by Russia.

We have to return everyone. Because we value everyone.

Azovstal steel plant was Ukraine's last stronghold in Mariupol, the Donetsk region, before the city became entirely occupied by Russia in May.

As part of Ukraine's prisoner exchange with Russia that freed 215 prisoners of war in September, it was decided that five top commanding officers of the Azovstal defense would live in Turkey until the end of the war.

Two more war prisoners from the Azov Regiment were brought back home after Russia's urges to execute them.