Ukraine handed over a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in exchange for hundreds of prisoners of war including many captured in a landmark battle, a swap that outraged pro-Kremlin propagandists
“It is not a pity to give Medvedchuk in exchange for real warriors,” Zelenskiy said. Those handed over to Russia included “people who fought against Ukraine. And those who betrayed Ukraine,” he said.
Russian war bloggers and nationalist commentators reacted furiously to the release of Azov fighters that state television and Kremlin officials have sought to cast as “Nazis” for months in efforts to justify Putin’s invasion. Many highlighted the timing of the swap on the same day asUkraine’s Offensive Is Pushing Russia Back—And Raising the Risks of Escalation
The prisoner exchange with Ukraine is “unbelievable stupidity,” Igor Girkin, a former Russian intelligence colonel who became a commander of pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, said on his Telegram channel that has more than 600,000 followers. The release of Azov commanders amounted to “treachery” by officials, making a mockery of the call-up to fight for Russia.
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