It was the biggest prisoner exchange since Russia began its invasion in February and came as a surprise during a week in which the Kremlin raised the stakes again in Ukraine, promising to hold mock “referendums” on annexing Ukrainian territory and threatening nuclear hits if aborted. “We have freed 215 of our people from captivity, of which 124 are officers. Of those we released, 108 are Azov fighters,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Others released by Russia include Ukrainian border guards and police officers, Zelensky said. Moscow also released 10 foreigners, including five Britons and two Americans. In exchange, Ukraine released 55 captured Russian soldiers, as well as former Ukrainian MP Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Vladimir Putin who was charged by Ukraine with high treason. The exchange was brokered by Turkey, with negotiations being conducted under strict secrecy. “We knew that negotiations were going on, but we didn’t know the details. Of course it was a surprise that the commanders were released,” said Tetiana Kharko, the sister of Serhii Volynskyi, a Ukrainian marine commander who took part in the defense of Azovstal, the last refuge of Ukrainian forces in the southern city of Mariupol, from Russia. took control after reducing much of it to rubble. The defenders of Azovstal surrendered in May after a long siege. They refused to give up for weeks despite running out of ammunition and with many wounded in the underground tunnels of the huge Azovstal plant. Since then they have been held in Russian captivity. Harko said she was able to speak to her brother for a few minutes after he arrived in Turkey following his release. “I felt euphoric when I heard his voice. I just said his name over and over again,” she said, adding that the call was brief and they had not discussed the conditions of his detention in Russia. Volynskyi is one of the five commanders who will be released and will have to stay in Turkey. Zelensky said the five would remain there “in absolute safety and in comfortable conditions” until the end of the war. Many of Azovstal’s defenders came from the Azov regiment, which was first formed as a volunteer battalion in 2014 when many of its members had far-right leanings. Russia has previously described Azov regiment fighters as “neo-Nazis” and has made frequent public statements that it wants to hold a “Nuremberg 2.0” show trial to justify its false claims that its war in Ukraine is about “denazification” of country. . The Russian embassy in Britain tweeted in July that the militants should be hanged. “They deserve a humiliating death,” he said. Russia also freed 10 foreigners, including two Britons who had been sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, as part of a deal brokered separately by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Russian propagandists on Thursday sought to explain why the exchange appeared one-sided, while there was anger among some military bloggers that so much attention had been given to Medvedchuk, who was released from Ukraine as part of the deal. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the Russian leadership in unusually harsh terms on Thursday, saying “terrorist criminals should not be exchanged for soldiers.” He also said the swap would mean Chechen soldiers fighting as part of Russian forces in Ukraine “will draw their own conclusions and not capture the fascists”. Medvedchuk is a Ukrainian citizen who led a pro-Russian political party before the outbreak of war and was known as Putin’s closest ally in Ukraine. The Russian president is his daughter’s godfather. Medvedchuk was arrested in April after escaping house arrest on treason charges days after Russia launched its invasion. Zelensky then called on Russia to exchange him for Ukrainian prisoners of war, but the Kremlin rejected the offer. In a statement about the exchange, Zelensky said Ukraine got a good deal. “I’m not sad to trade Medvedchuk for real warriors. He has gone through all investigative procedures in accordance with the law, and Ukraine has taken everything it needs from him to determine the truth,” he said. Far from exchanging prisoners, fighting continued on the ground on Thursday. Russian missiles hit the center of the city of Zaporizhia, killing one and wounding five, Ukrainian officials said. In Donetsk, Russian proxies claimed Ukrainian shelling had killed six people. In a televised announcement on Wednesday morning, Putin said he was mobilizing some Russian reserves and also said the Russian occupation authorities would go ahead with so-called “referendums” in four Ukrainian regions, even though the Russian military does not control all of the territory. in which he claims. The fake votes have been widely condemned internationally, but appear to be a pretext for Russia to declare that it is annexing the territory. Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would be ready to use nuclear weapons to protect itself. On Thursday, former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, said nuclear weapons could be used to defend new territories Russia planned to claim. “Any Russian weapons, including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles, could be used for such protection,” he said. Ukrainian officials have demanded a tough response from Western leaders to Russian threats.
