“This is the largest exchange since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,” Ukraine’s military intelligence service told the Telegram on Wednesday. “Of the 144 released, 95 are Azovstal defenders.” He added that most of the Ukrainians who were released had serious injuries, including burns and mutilations, and are now receiving medical treatment. A pro-Russian separatist leader confirmed the exchange of prisoners, saying 144 Russian and separatist soldiers had returned to Russia. “We handed over to Kyiv the same number of prisoners from the Ukrainian armed forces, most of whom were wounded. “Our main task is to save the fighters who took part in a special military operation,” said Dennis Pushilin, leader of the pro-Russian separatist People’s Republic of Donbass. Pushilin added that some of the released Ukrainian soldiers were part of “nationalist battalions”. There was no comment from Moscow on the exchange of detainees. More than a thousand Azovstal defenders were transferred to Russian territory in May after surrendering to Moscow forces at the end of a three-month siege. The fate of the soldiers remained a major concern for officials in Kyiv who said they would be exchanged for prisoners. Among Azovstal defenders exchanged on Wednesday, Ukraine said, were 43 members of the Azov regiment, a battalion that played a central role in justifying Russia for its invasion. The Azov Regiment was formed in 2014 as a volunteer militia to fight Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, and many of its original members had far-right extremist views. Since then, the unit has been integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard and the constitution now denies being fascist, racist or neo-Nazi. Russian state media have used the constitution as evidence of their false claim that the Ukrainian state is contaminated by Nazism, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to “ransom” the country. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Following the arrest of Azov’s soldiers in Mariupol, some Russian officials said they should be tried and even executed. Several deputies in Russia’s State Duma have also said they will propose new laws that could derail the exchange of prisoners of war that Moscow claims are “terrorists.” The decision to exchange prisoners was met with outrage by some Russian military bloggers and pro-war politicians. Andrei Medvedev, a member of the Moscow Duma and a state news reporter, took to his Telegram asking for “answers” about the exchange. “Why did we have to change Azov soldiers? “Was there no one else we could exchange?”
