By Filipp Piatov and Marcel Sacha
Ukraine celebrates the return of its steel mill heroes!
It is one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the beginning of the war: the Russians released 205 captured Ukraine fighters, including over 100 fighters from the Azov regiment, who for months defended the Azov steelworks in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. There were also ten foreign soldiers who fought for Ukraine against Russia.
In return, the Ukrainians released 55 Russian soldiers – and the Ukrainian billionaire and Putin henchman Viktor Medvedchuk (67).
JOY in Ukraine, FURY in Russia!
The Ukrainians reacted euphorically to the exchange of prisoners and celebrated the release of their heroes overjoyed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (44) spoke to some released soldiers on Wednesday evening and explained in a video: “We are bringing our people home. There is no question that this is a victory for our state and for our society as a whole. And most importantly, it’s a victory for 215 families who can see their loved ones return safely.”
Ukrainian fighters after their release Photo: STATE SECURITY SERVICE OF UKRAINE/REUTERS
The first photos and videos of the exhausted, partly emaciated steel mill workers, who became world famous in the spring, are circulating on the Internet. For months they held out in the besieged coastal city of Mariupol and defended the city against Russian superiority. In the end they were stuck in the bunker of the Azov steelworks, where they beat back the Russians with almost no ammunition or food. In May they went into Russian captivity.
Notable: Among those released are the leaders of the Azov regiment, who were defamed by Russia as Nazi beasts and reviled by Russian propagandists as the cause of all evil. After her captivity there were repeated calls for her to be tortured, court-martialed and hanged. Now they have been released.
The exchange of prisoners caused bewilderment and anger among Russian warmongers. They got angry publicly. It was not an exchange, but a “surrender,” it said. In addition, it was “bitter” that the Russian prisoners were not received ceremoniously, but arrived at an empty airfield.
Russia wanted to kill him, released him yesterday: Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment Photo: MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE/via REUTERS
Another reason for trouble: the release of Putin’s buddy Viktor Medvedchuk, who was exchanged for numerous Ukrainian fighters. While Medvedchuk is free again, many Russian soldiers remain prisoners of war. Russian nationalists reacted with incomprehension and open criticism of the Kremlin.
Flashback: In April, the Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU managed to capture the oligarch. Until March this year, Medvedchuk was one of four party leaders of the pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform – For Life”. He was considered Putin’s best friend in Ukraine.
Pressure on Putin increases
Anger is growing not only among the Russian military. Russians are also rebelling on the streets against the dictator Vladimir Putin (69) and his partial mobilization. Protests erupted in all major cities across the country on Wednesday night against the Kremlin tyrant’s order to conscript citizens belonging to the reserve of the Russian Armed Forces. A total of 300,000 Russians are to be mobilized and fighting in Ukraine.
They chanted “No to War!” in the middle of Moscow – although the term is still banned in Russia. Officially, the bloody war in Ukraine is a “special operation” in Russia.
The Russian police responded promptly to the protests. A large contingent went nationwide against the demonstrators. According to the non-governmental organization OVD-Info, there have been more than 1,400 arrests in at least 38 Russian cities.
Videos from Moscow show, among other things, how a young woman – apparently unconscious – is being dragged away by special police units. Numerous photos show the officers beating demonstrators and violently carrying away protesters.