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☆ Ukraine's wild, fire-breathing drones aim to create terror among Russian troops, military experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Last week, Ukrainian military sources shared spectacular videos that appeared to show low-flying drones showering treelines in flames as they passed. "The use of drones to deploy this molten payload is a novel, and fearsome, addition to modern warfare," Patton Rogers said. "It's difficult to hide from thermite," Patton Rogers said. AdvertisementThermite isn't banned for use against enemy troops — but "there are clear protocols stopping their use on civilian targets," Patton Rogers said. The psychological impact of these latest strikes is likely the principal operational goal, Patton Rogers said.

Persons: —, Thermite, James Patton Rogers, Patton Rogers, Little, thermite, Iain Overton, Nicholas Drummond Organizations: Service, Business, Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute, 116th Mechanized Brigade, CNN Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Mariupol, Kursk

☆ Ukraine's Azov Brigade, a unit with a controversial past, can now use American weapons to fight the Russians
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe US State Department announced Monday that it has lifted a ban on the Azov Brigade, a former Ukrainian militia group with an ultranationalist history, allowing the current National Guard unit to receive American weapon shipments and training. A State Department spokesperson told BBC on Tuesday that following a vetting of the brigade, there was "no evidence of gross violations of human rights." Related storiesNow known as the Azov Brigade, the unit became part of the Ukrainian National Guard in 2015. AdvertisementThe State Department has dismissed the congressional ban and said the Azov Brigade "passed Leahy vetting," referring to Leahy Law, which prevents the US from supporting foreign entities that have committed major human rights violations. The Azov Brigade has claimed that it has evolved from its problematic past and that its leadership has changed since its inception.

Persons: —, Leahy, Dmytro Kozatski, Ruslan Muzychuk, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, US State Department, Azov Brigade, National Guard, State Department, BBC, Business, Azov Battalion, Ukrainian National Guard, Department, Leahy Law, Azov Special Forces Regiment, Ukrainian National Guard Press, Washington Post Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Mariupol, United States

☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

☆ Captured, injured, but undeterred. One soldier’s life fighting for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Anna-Maja Rappard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Kherson, Ukraine CNN —If one man’s story encompassed all two years of Ukraine’s war you might expect it to have ended abruptly long ago. And slowly, Russian forces pushed the Ukrainians back towards Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant. On May 17, Ukrainian troops began surrendering. Kyiv released a drone video as part of its fervent denial, showing the same Russian troops who planted a flag over the flattened hamlet, fleeing the scene. “I have hope he will never be part of this war,” Oleksandr said.

Persons: Oleksandr, ”, …, “, gaunt, Valery Zaluzhny, “ I’m, Ed Ram, it’s, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Oleksandr Organizations: Ukraine CNN, CNN, Ukrainian, Urozhaine . 36th Marines Brigade, Armed Forces, Russia, NATO, Washington Post, Kremlin Locations: Kherson, Ukraine, Mariupol, Russia, Urozhaine, Kyiv, Urozhaine ., Russian, Vodiane, Denmark, AFP, Olenivka, Donbas, Dnipro, Crimea

☆ Putin should face war crimes probe over ‘devastating’ assault on Mariupol, major new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Russian forces encircled Mariupol within days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, before launching a months-long bombardment to break down a stubborn Ukrainian military resistance. The city, which lies on the Sea of Azov in Ukraine’s southeast, saw some of the most intense and vicious fighting of the war. A Russian tank in Mariupol in April 2022, during the peak of the fighting around the city. Even as fighting for the city raged, concerns were rife that Moscow’s forces could conceal evidence of possible war crimes in the city. Russian authorities plan to rebuild the city in Moscow’s image by 2025, with further development by 2035, the HRW report outlined.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Alexander Ermochenko, Ida Sawyer, “, ”, Putin, Sawyer, Valentina Ryabokrys, Mariupol, ” Sawyer Organizations: CNN, Human Rights Watch, Reuters, International Criminal Court, ICC, Russian, Kremlin Locations: Ukrainian, Mariupol, Ukraine, Azov, Ukraine’s, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Moscow’s, Nazi, ”

CNN —Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that the released prisoners had returned to Ukraine. Last week, Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in what the Ukrainian government called the “second major exchange after a long break.”It was the first exchange since the mysterious crash of a Russian IL-76 plane on January 24 in Russia’s Belgorod region, which neighbors eastern Ukraine. Moscow claimed the plane was transporting dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Kyiv said it was carrying Russian missiles to be used in further strikes on Ukraine. Zelensky said 207 Ukrainian service members were returned on Wednesday, while the Russian Defense Ministry said 195 Russian military personnel had been received.

Persons: KSHPPV, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Armed Forces, United Arab Emirates, Russian Ministry of Defence, Russian Air Force, Russian Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Azovstal, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russian, Russia’s Belgorod, Moscow, Kyiv

CNN —Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the first such swap since the deadly crash of a Russian military plane that Moscow claimed was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers. Wednesday’s exchange was the first since the mysterious crash of a Russian IL-76 plane on January 24 in Russia’s Belgorod region, which neighbors eastern Ukraine. But Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said there was still no reliable information as to who might have been on board the downed Russian plane. Speaking after Wednesday’s prisoner exchange, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the IL-76 plane had been downed by a US Patriot missile system. Putin stressed that Russia would not halt prisoner exchanges despite the plane crash.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Zelensky, ”, Andriy Yusov, Yusov, Petro Yatsenko, Kyrylo Budanov, Vladimir Putin, ” Putin, Putin, “, Andriy Yermak Organizations: CNN, Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Social Media, Ukraine’s, US Patriot, American Patriot, Patriot, Russia’s Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Russia’s Belgorod, Kyiv, Belgorod, Yablonovo, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Sumy

☆ Many Ukrainian soldiers were killed in Mariupol, but survivors faced further hell in brutal Russian captivity
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Ukrainian officials say tens of thousands of people were killed, but Mariupol's actual death toll remains unknown. Their goal was to break our will — to break our resilience," said Tetiana, the Ukrainian mother whose surname has been intentionally withheld. "We didn't really feel the beginning of the war," Oleksandr said, but that quickly changed. Many soldiers were killed at Azovstal, and those who survived also ended up in Russian captivity. Hi, I'm in Ukraine, mom ❤️Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Didur calls his dearest person after being released from almost 14 months of #Russian captivity.

Persons: —, Mariupol, Vladimir Putin, Evgeniy, Oleksandr Didur, Russia's, Oleksandr, Oleksandr didn't, Shrapnel, Ramzan Kadyrov, Stringer, Alexander Ermochenko, cale, ong, ade, evastating, ake, ince Organizations: Service, Business, Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, Associated Press, Anadolu Agency, Getty, United Nations, REUTERS, ust Locations: Russia, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Moscow, Ukraine, Azov, Crimean, Donbas, Russian, Kyiv, Azovstal, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Olenivka, oman, ife, rauma

☆ The War Has Reined In Ukraine’s Oligarchs, at Least for Now
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For weeks, they fended off Russian assaults, holed up in a vast steel mill under barrages of missiles and mortars. And when the Ukrainian troops defending the Azovstal plant finally surrendered in May 2022, the mill had been reduced to rubble and twisted metal. It was also a major setback for Ukraine’s richest man, the plant’s owner. With the destruction of Azovstal, the owner, Rinat Akhmetov, lost an industrial jewel accounting for one-fifth of Ukraine’s steel output — a multibillion dollar loss that dealt a severe blow to his longtime grip on the Ukrainian economy. Mr. Akhmetov’s case underlines how the war, by ravaging Ukrainian industry, has curbed the power of the country’s so-called oligarchs, tycoons who have long reigned over the economy and used their wealth to buy political influence, experts say.

Persons: Rinat Akhmetov, tycoons Locations: Azovstal, Mariupol, Ukraine

The Gaza Strip itself is only some 360 square kilometers (140 square miles), roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C.“They started saying that they destroyed 100 kilometers (62 miles) of Hamas tunnels. I am telling you that the tunnels we have in the Gaza Strip exceed 500 kilometers,” Sinwar said following a bloody 11-day war with Israel. But fully dislodging Hamas will require clearing those tunnels, where militants can pop up behind advancing Israeli troops. During a 2014 war, Hamas militants killed at least 11 Israeli soldiers after infiltrating into Israel through tunnels. AN ADDITIONAL LAYER OF COMPLEXITYYet in all those cases, advancing militaries did not face the challenge that Israel does now with Hamas’ tunnel system.

Persons: Israel, ”, John Spencer, “, Sinwar, ” Sinwar, Hadar Goldin, Ariel Bernstein, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Lifshitz, spiriting, Daphné Richemond, Barak, Richemond, ″ Organizations: JERUSALEM, U.S . Army, Urban Warfare, Modern, Institute, Urban, Steel Works, Hamas, “ Metro, Washington , D.C, Israeli, Ministry, Islamic, U.S ., Soufan, Israel’s Reichman, Associated Press Locations: Gaza, Israel, U.S, West, Ambracia, “, Egypt, Washington ,, Israeli, Vietnam, Saigon, South Vietnam, Russian, Ukrainian, America, Islamic State, Afghanistan, Hamas, New York, firefights

That fell to 21-22 million tonnes by 2021, and after Russia invaded last year, output hit 6.3 million in 2022. But even with consumption nearly doubling to 2.6 million tonnes between January and September, that is not enough to sustain a sector that used to export four fifths of its output. Zaporizhstal expects to export two thirds of its 2.4-2.5 million tonnes of iron ore and rolled steel production in 2023. Before the invasion, output was 4.2 million tonnes a year. "We can say that blackouts last winter (reduced) steel production by two to three times," Zinchenko said, citing production data for the months when blackouts were most regular.

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, ZAPORIZHZHIA, Roman Slobodianiuk, Ukraine's, Oleksandr Kalenkov, Slobodianiuk, Stanislav Zinchenko, Medkov, Oleksandr Yasunas, Zinchenko, Mike Collett, White, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Steel, REUTERS, Staff, Reuters, GMK, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Russia, Soviet, Ukrainian, Mariupol, Europe, Odesa, Kyiv, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russian

☆ Ukrainian partisans say they killed dozens of Russian soldiers by poisoning their food
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian resistance fighters say they've conducted a mass poisoning of Russian soldiers. Partisans in occupied Mariupol say they killed 26 soldiers, according to the Kyiv Post. Mariupol, in the south of Ukraine, has been under Russian occupation since May 2022. AdvertisementAdvertisementUkrainian resistance fighters in occupied Mariupol say they've killed 26 Russian soldiers, the majority of whom died by poisoning, according to the Kyiv Post. In a post on Telegram, he added that over the summer more than 40 Russian soldiers had been killed by Mariupol's resistance fighters.

Persons: they've, —, Vladimir Putin, Petro Andriushchenko, Andriushchenko Organizations: Service, UK's Ministry of Defence, Russian Navy Locations: Kyiv, Mariupol, Ukraine, Russian, Russia

☆ Ukraine's high-profile Azov Brigade, many of them former PoWs, has been rebuilt and is fighting in the forests of Donetsk
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine's battle-hardened Azov Brigade has been rebuilt and is fighting in the forests of Donetsk. Videos show them fighting Russian positions from their trenches in the Serebryansky forest. AdvertisementAdvertisementUkraine says that its battle-hardened Azov Brigade has returned to the front lines in Ukraine and is fighting in the woods of Donetsk. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Azov Brigade was formed as the Azov Battalion in 2014, composed of volunteers who came together to fight pro-Russian forces in the war in Donbas. Azov claims in the video that about 700 of their fighters have now been in captivity for over 500 days.

Persons: —, United24, Dmytro Kozatsky, Mariupol, you've Organizations: Azov Brigade, Service, Azov Battalion, Azov Special Forces Regiment, Getty, Azov, Battalion, Marlboro Locations: Donetsk, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Kreminna, Donbas, Mariupol, Azov

The harrowing documentary, which was produced by the AP and the PBS series “Frontline,” is culled from 30 hours of footage AP journalist Mstyslav Chernov and his colleagues shot in Mariupol following Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine and its siege of the city. It documents fighting in the streets, the crushing strain on Mariupol’s residents, and attacks that killed pregnant women, children and others. The siege, which ended on May 20, 2022, with the surrender of a small group of outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian fighters at the Azovstal steel plant, left thousands dead and the city in ruins. “20 Days in Mariupol” won the Sundance Global Audience Award for Best Documentary and several other prizes. Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of “Frontline,” called it “deeply meaningful” to have the opportunity to screen the documentary at the United Nations.

Persons: Barbara Woodward, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ”, Mstyslav Chernov, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, “, Vladimir, Mariupol, Vasily Nebenzia, Julie Pace, Mariupol ”, Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, Lori Hinnant, Raney Aronson, Rath Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Associated Press, General Assembly, Ukrainian, AP, PBS, United Nations, Sundance, Public Service Locations: United States, Britain, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Paris, ukraine

☆ Ukraine reports some successes in counteroffensive against Russian forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

And it said Ukrainian troops were making gradual progress in their southward advance to the Sea of Azov. Russian accounts of the fighting said their troops had beaten back Ukrainian attacks near Bakhmut. Ukraine began its counteroffensive in June and has focused on retaking Bakhmut, seized by Russian troops in May, and capturing clusters of villages in the south. They face Russian troops that are well dug in and have benefited from extensive mining operations. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told national television that Ukrainian forces were pressing their drive near southward from the village of Robotyne, captured last week.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Antony Blinken, Zelenskiy, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Nick Starkov, Ron Popeski, Grant McCool Organizations: Presidential Press Service, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Ukraine, Azov, Military, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Azov, Kyiv, Zelenskiy, Mariupol, Robotyne, Russia, Klishchiivka

☆ Ukraine Reports Some Successes in Counteroffensive Against Russian Forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Antony Blinken, Zelenskiy, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Nick Starkov, Ron Popeski, Grant McCool Organizations: Reuters, Ukraine, Azov, Military, Russia's Defence Ministry Locations: Bakhmut, Azov, Ukraine, Kyiv, Zelenskiy, Mariupol, Robotyne, Russia, Klishchiivka

☆ Ukrainian POWs said Russians gave them electric shocks and starved them, often extracting false confessions to make it stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Ukrainian prisoners of war said they were beaten, shocked, and not given enough food by Russia. They told the BBC that many Ukrainians gave false confessions because of the beatings. A Ukrainian human-rights group told the BBC that Russia used apparent false confessions by Ukrainians against them in court. Other former prisoners of war who were at Taganrog told the BBC that prisoners of war there gave false confessions after they were threatened and intimidated. They also told the BBC they were not given enough food, inspected daily, beaten, given electric shocks, and interrogated.

Persons: Artem Seredniak, We'll, Seredniak, Serhii Rotchuk, Dmytro Lubinets Organizations: BBC, Service, Azov Regiment, United Nations, UN, Wagner Group, Washington Post Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Mariupol, Ukraine, Russia's, Taganrog, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Their City in Ruins, a Ukrainian University and Its Students Persevere
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the before times, there were caps and gowns and canapés, but Mariupol State University could offer only a pared-down ceremony on Thursday for the class of 2023 on its campus in exile almost 400 miles from its ravaged home city. Of the 500 graduates, only about 60 attended here in Kyiv to collect their diplomas in person at a new university home that is a work in progress. The rest took part online if they could, scattered by war around Ukraine and abroad. It was a bittersweet moment for the graduates of Mariupol, a city that became synonymous with the war’s brutality and devastation before falling to the Russian invasion last year. Valeriya Tkachenko, 21, continued her studies in ecology and education, even as her husband, Vladislav, underwent treatment and rehabilitation after losing a leg in the battle for Azovstal, the sprawling steelworks where Mariupol’s defenders made their last stand before surrendering in May 2022.

Persons: Valeriya Tkachenko, Vladislav Organizations: Mariupol State, Mariupol, Azovstal Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Analysis: President Joe Biden just secured a big win from his Europe trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —President Joe Biden has already secured a powerful deliverable from his Europe trip – one that will weaken Russia’s strategic position in another detrimental consequence of its invasion of Ukraine. Once Sweden finally joins NATO, it will bolster Biden’s reputation as a US leader who reinvigorated and expanded the bloc. Biden had said before leaving the US that Ukraine was not ready to join. Erdogan’s move was also a severe blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “This really isn’t about Sweden, this is about the United States and Turkey and Turkey’s role,” she told Jake Tapper.

Persons: Joe Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland –, Ukraine –, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Biden, Erdogan’s, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Erdogan –, –, Russia’s, Erdogan, Jens Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, Jake Sullivan, Ulf Kristersson, “, ” Sullivan, Chuck Schumer, ”, Stoltenberg, Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, National Intelligence Beth Sanner, Jake Tapper, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, NATO, European Union, Kremlin, West, East, NATO “, Swedish, New, New York Democrat, America, EU, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Senate Foreign Relations, The New, The New Jersey Democrat, “, National Intelligence Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Lithuania, Sweden, Turkey, Finland, George H.W ., Germany, Russia, United States, Washington, Syria, Madrid, Vilnius, ”, New York, Ankara, Eurasia, Turkish, Stockholm, Greece, The, The New Jersey, “ Turkey, Mariupol

☆ Russia said it was blindsided by Turkey after Zelenskyy left the country with formerly imprisoned Azov battalion members
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Five Ukrainian soldiers returned from Turkey, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. Many of these troops who held the line by hiding in bunkers and tunnels under the Azovstal steel plant were Azov battalion members. A prisoner swap organized with the help of Turkey and Saudi Arabia in September allowed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers to return home. Zelenskyy announced part of the agreement included that five commanders of the Azov battalion who led the charge in Mariupol would remain in Turkey until the war concluded. As for the other Azov soldiers captured in Mariupol, 22 are currently facing trial in Russia after the country designated the battalion as a terrorist group.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Turkey's Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy, Dmitry Peskov, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Peskov, Erdogan, Putin Organizations: Service, Ukrainian National Guard, Twitter, Reuters, Kremlin, Azov, Human Rights Watch, Geneva Convention Locations: Turkey, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Azov, Ankara, Mariupol, Russian, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Geneva

CNN —Ukrainian commanders who were captured by Russia after leading the defense of Mariupol from the Azovstal steel plant have vowed to return to the battle field following a prisoner swap. The commanders announced their intentions at a press conference held shortly after arriving in Lviv, Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. Zelensky thanked his team and President Erdogan in particular for helping to bring the Azovstal leaders home. Zelensky pictured with Azovstal commanders as they return to Ukraine from Istanbul. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout/ReutersThe Ukrainian president also announced his appointment of Oleksandr Pivnenko as new commander of the National Guard.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Denys Prokopenko, ” Prokopenko, Zelensky, Roman Baluk, Svyatoslav Palamar, Lesya Ukrainka, ”, ” Palamar, Erdogan, Oleksandr Pivnenko, …, Bakhmut ” Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Presidential Press Service, National Guard, Ukraine’s National Guard Locations: Russia, Mariupol, Lviv, Ukraine, Turkey, Ukrainian, Azovstal, Azov, Roman, Reuters Azov, Istanbul

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy brings home Azovstal commanders released to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks with commanders of defenders of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol Denys Prokopenko, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, Serhii Volynskyi and Oleh Homenko inside a plane as they return to Ukraine from Istanbul, Turkey July 8, 2023. Ukrainian... Read moreKYIV, July 8 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, returning home from a visit to Turkey, brought with him five commanders of Ukraine's former garrison in Mariupol, forced to live in Turkey under the terms of a prisoner exchange last year. The commanders, lionised as heroes in Ukraine, led last year's defence of the port, the biggest city Russia captured in its invasion. "We are returning home from Turkey and bringing our heroes home," said Zelenskiy who met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Istanbul on Friday. Zelenskiy gave no explanation for why the commanders were being allowed to return home now.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mariupol Denys Prokopenko, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, Serhii, Read, Zelenskiy, Tayyip Erdogan, Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhiy Volynsky, Oleh Khomenko, Maksym Zhorin, Olena, Peter Graff Organizations: Steel, Turkey's, Communications, Thomson Locations: Mariupol, Ukraine, Istanbul, Turkey, KYIV, Russia, Kyiv, Ankara, Moscow, Czech

☆ Russia and Ukraine announce prisoner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Former prisoner of war embraces her children Renat and Varvara as they return home after being illegally taken to Russia, in an unknown location in Ukraine, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in this handout picture released July 6, 2023. Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of... Read moreJuly 6 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine announced a prisoner of war exchange on Thursday involving the return of 45 soldiers from each side. Russia's defence ministry said that 45 Russian servicemen had been returned from Ukrainian custody, the Russian news agency RIA reported. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential staff, said 45 service personnel and two civilians had been returned to Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have periodically exchanged groups of prisoners in the course of the war, now in its 17th month.

Persons: Renat, Varvara, Read, Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, Alexander Marrow, Anna Pruchnicka, Timothy Organizations: Headquarters, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Mariupol

☆ Fact Check-No evidence photo of man in military fatigues and a Union Jack patch is a ‘NATO mercenary’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A photo of four men in military fatigues, including one who has a British Union Jack patch on his arm, has been falsely claimed online to be proof that NATO mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine. It’s captioned: “A group of NATO mercenaries in British uniforms were captured yesterday in Zaporozhye region, Russia. It’s also not unusual for Ukrainian soldiers to be seen in British military gear. Reuters also reported in 2022 that Ukrainian fighters were purchasing British military surplus here. The photo dates to May 2022 and shows Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Persons: British Union Jack, It’s, fatigues, Jens Stoltenberg, Read Organizations: NATO, Twitter, Facebook, Reuters, RIA, Donetsk People’s, UN Locations: British Union, Ukraine, Zaporozhye region, Russia, ”, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic

☆ They Were Captured by the Russians. Then the Hardest Fight Began.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Carlotta Gall | Daniel Berehulak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shot through the jaw and tongue by a sniper’s bullet last year in the last days of the grinding siege at the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine, Senior Sgt. Maksym Kushnir could not eat or talk, and could barely breathe. But when he hobbled out of a bunker last May with hundreds of other wounded Ukrainian soldiers in a surrender negotiated with Russian forces, there was no medical help or any sign of the Red Cross workers they had been promised. “For the first three to four days, they did not do anything. They expected me to die on my own.”

Persons: Maksym Kushnir, Sergeant Kushnir, ” Organizations: Russian, Red Cross Locations: Ukraine, Russian

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