The scoundrel returned: Azov soldier Prokopenko harshly commented on the prisoner exchange '1000 for 1000'.

Ukrainian prisoners of war were not exchanged with Russia

In the framework of the prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia under the formula 1000 for 1000, no soldiers from the 12th Special Purpose Brigade of the National Guard 'Azov' were included. This was reported by the commander of the 1st Corps of the NGU 'Azov', Denis Prokopenko ('Redis') on his Facebook page.

'Not a single Azov soldier. Among the thousand Ukrainian prisoners of war exchanged today, there is not a single Azov soldier. Instead, a scoundrel returned who asked for a knife from the guards to cut our fighters', – he noted.

Prokopenko also emphasized that this situation looks like mockery of the Ukrainian soldiers who are in Russian captivity, as well as their relatives. The commander does not believe in the idea that the Russians do not want to return Azov soldiers, but rather believes that the tactics of exchanges need to be changed.

The necessity of new paths in the process of prisoner exchanges

Prokopenko called for finding new ways to conduct exchanges, for example, offering the Russians people who might have greater value to them. He also expressed the opinion about a more active participation of Ukraine in the prisoner exchange processes between Western allies and Russia.

'Not a single Azov soldier among the 1000 exchanged – this is a disgrace for our entire state. I do not believe that the authorities are interested in returning Azov soldiers if the same people have been ineffectively handling exchanges for four years', – the commander emphasized.

These statements indicate serious problems in the process of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the need for changes in approaches to this issue.