11 soldiers of Azov brigade returned from russian captivity yesterday — Prokopenko

Eleven servicemen of the 12th special forces brigade "Azov" managed to return home as part of yesterday's prisoner exchange between Ukraine and russia.

The commander of the Azov brigade, Colonel Denys "Redis" Prokopenko announced this.

"They went through extremely difficult trials that lasted almost 3 years. 86 days of defending Mariupol, heavy fighting at the limit of human capabilities, captivity, prisons, interrogations, torture. They did not give up and emerged from this hell as winners," wrote Prokopenko.

He congratulated the soldiers on their return, the opportunity to "see and hug" their relatives, and also to spend the New Year holidays with loved ones, and not "under the supervision of the vertuhays."

Prokopenko also thanked the fighters of "Azov" and other units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, who replenish the so-called "exchange fund", making it possible to return Ukrainians from russian captivity.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, yesterday, December 30, Ukraine and russia held a large exchange of prisoners. 187 servicemen and two civilians managed to return home. 150 people were transferred to the aggressor country.

Recall that the Security Service of Ukraine published photos and videos taken during yesterday's exchange.