The Azov unit of the First Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine believes that the convictions of captured Azov fighters by Russian courts do not affect prisoner exchanges, and they also state that of the 600 prisoners of war (POWs), 270 have already been convicted of terrorism under fabricated charges.
"Currently, specifically from Olenivka – the people who survived the barracks – there are about 100 prisoners of war in captivity, including those who are seriously wounded. When the commander [Denys Prokopenko (Redis), commander of the First Corps of the National Guard's Azov unit] raised the issue of prisoner exchanges, he requested that the wounded be exchanged. "But, unfortunately, as you can see from the trend this year and last year, this year we've had 12 servicemen exchanged, and if you count all the prisoners of war who were exchanged, the ratio is 1 to 20-30," Colonel Bohdan Hrishenkov (Puhach), commander of the 12th Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov" and a former prisoner of war from "Barrack 200," at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The brigade noted that there are currently more than 600 "Azov" prisoners of war held by Russia, and more than 20 of them are in critical condition.
It is also noted that of the 600 prisoners of war, 270 have already been convicted by Russia of terrorism under fabricated charges.
"I very much doubt that this affects the exchange, because it is up to certain people to decide who, when, and in what numbers to exchange. If necessary, they can convict someone in two hours," Colonel Hrishenkov said.
In turn, Colonel Arsen Dmytryk, chief of staff of the First Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard "Azov" and senior officer of "Barrack 200" (Lemko), emphasized that the entire state is working to secure the release of Azov prisoners of war.
"My department is directly conducting a pre-trial investigation into war crimes committed against our prisoners of war. Another focus of my work and that of my investigators is investigating crimes involving violations of the right to a fair trial. Therefore, we are documenting instances of the conviction of prisoners of war, and not only those from the Azov Corps. Furthermore, when the men return from captivity, we notify the judges and prosecutors involved in these unlawful prosecutions – which resulted in our men receiving maximum prison sentences – of our suspicions. "We also respond to cases where our men have not yet returned from captivity; we try to wait for them and only then make any procedural decisions," Head of the first Division of the third Department of the SBU's Main Investigation Directorate Denys Ladonko said.
Head of the Department of Procedural Guidance at the Prosecutor General's Office Andriy Atamanchuk also said that earlier this year, the first verdict was handed down against a judge from one of the Russian courts for violating the right to a fair trial in the case of a Ukrainian prisoner of war.
As previously reported, in June, Colonel Denys Prokopenko, commander of the First Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard "Azov," reported that of the 160 servicemen released in an exchange with Russia on June 26, only 16 Azov fighters while more than 600 remain in captivity.
