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Some 30% of the personnel from military unit 3057 of the 12th National Guard Azov Brigade have been returned from Russian captivity, but the Azov soldiers and marines are not being handed over.
This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Bohdan Okhrimenko commenting on the frustration of commander of the 12th National Guard Azov Brigade Denys Prokopenko regarding the fact that 900 Azov soldiers remain in Russian captivity.
“At the Azovstal plant, there were mixed units, with representatives of all branches of the military. At that time, Prokopenko was in charge of the Azov battalion of military unit 3057. Now he commands the entire unit 3057. The return of personnel from other subunits of this unit must also be a priority. I can say that we have returned 30% of the personnel of military unit 3057 from captivity,” said Okhrimenko.
According to Okhrimenko, the situation with the Azov soldiers, as well as with the marines, is complicated.
“The Russian side does not want to release them. Azov has been declared a terrorist organization in Russia, and when we return Azov soldiers from captivity and this becomes known to the local population, the authorities there suffer reputational losses. As for the marines, they are perceived in Russia as motivated, trained soldiers who, after being returned, are ready to rejoin the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So, while soldiers from other units — Territorial Defense, Ground Forces, State Border Guard Service, whom we call ‘defenders of the Mariupol garrison’ — are returned, the issue with the marines and Azov soldiers is indeed a problem,” said the representative of the Coordination Headquarters.
As reported, commander of the 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko (call sign Redis), stated that the Azov soldiers were not among those released during the exchange on February 5.
In May 2022, marines and Azov soldiers left the Azovstal plant under security guarantees and promises of release within “a few months.” However, they have now been in captivity for 33 months.
