Taken captive from the battle for the siege of Mariupol in 2022/ REL: The battle to free the Ukrainian fighters of Azovstal from

On May 25, Russia and Ukraine finalized the largest prisoner exchange since the start of Russia's war on Ukrainian soil. The agreement was reached during discussions between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul, enabling thousands of people to return to their homes.

But none of them were from the Azov Brigade - one of the most reputable Ukrainian military units. Hundreds of Azov fighters were taken captive during the bloody siege of the city of Mariupol by Russian forces in 2022. This has been one of the most brutal battles in the war, but also one that has given Ukrainian forces space to prepare to challenge the Russian invasion.

The heroic defense of the Azovstal steel plant during the siege of Mariupol had severely angered Russian officials, who have declared the unit a terrorist organization and called for its fighters to face tribunals and even execution. Since then, Ukrainian society has been vocal in its support of captured soldiers. Although some defenders of Mariupol – including Azov commanders – have been freed from Russian hands, hundreds of others continue to be imprisoned and live in brutal conditions.

For years, Russian officials have been digging to understand the origins of the Azov Brigade – originally formed as a regiment in 2014 by a right-wing militia, and thus misinterpreted or exaggerated their nationalist views and actions, attempting to create a basis for the false claim that Ukraine is controlled or dominated by neo-Nazis.

Ukrainian authorities have said Russia has repeatedly blocked efforts to return the Azov fighters. Now that the war is three years old, some of the brigade's best-known military commanders — along with their family members who are in custody — are unconvinced that it is the only reason for holding them hostage.

'Lack of competence or well-thought-out decision?'

Hours after Ukraine and Russia completed the final phase of the exchange of 1,000 people on May 25, Denys Prokopenko, commander of the 12th Brigade of the Azov Special Forces, has called the absence of Azov fighters "a body for the whole country".

"This is a mockery," said Prokopenko, who has faced Russian captivity. He has said that he does not believe that Russia is the only obstacle to the return of the Azov fighters.

"If this were entirely true, neither I nor the other Azov fighters would return from detention," Prokopenko said through a post on X.

A few days after the third anniversary of Ukraine's withdrawal from the factory in Azovstal, Prokopenko's post has only reinforced concerns among ordinary residents about the fate of those still held hostage in Russia. In response, Andriy Yusov, the deputy director of the Ukrainian Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, told the Ukrainian Radio Free Europe Service that he could not comment on the "emotional" statements, as the issue of Azov fighters being held hostage is "sensitive and painful".

Yusov has accused Russia of deliberately complicating the process of exchanging Azov fighters to increase pressure on the Ukrainian government. The criminal cases opened by Russian investigators against several Ukrainian prisoners of war are an example of this, the coordinating headquarters said earlier.

"Our prisoners are in Putin's hands... Russian special forces exploit the issue of prisoners for the purposes of the war against Ukraine," Yusov said.

However, Prokopenko has said that the problem lies in Ukraine's strategy, which is why he has called for changes in what he called "a mechanism that has ceased to function".

"We have to find alternatives, offer them someone more valuable than a contracted soldier," he said.

"Ukraine is filled with Russian agents, all our special services know that."

Ukrainian authorities have announced that the prisoner exchange list was created separately by Ukraine and Russia, and then the two countries decided which prisoners of war they want to release. Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of Azov, has joined Prokopenko in the dilemmas around this approach. However, Palamar has said that the exchange has resulted in the return of many worthy soldiers home.

But among them, some who cooperated with the Russian authorities have been released, he added.

"Is this a lack of preparedness, a lack of competence or a well-thought-out decision? Are we negotiating, or are we just accepting what the enemy says?", asked Palamar on his Facebook page.

During an interview given to Radio Free Europe, Oleksandra Yefimenko, director of communications for the Association of Family Members of Political Prisoners from the Kremlin, said that she does not believe that the Ukrainian authorities deliberately do not ask for the release of the Azov fighters. However, together with the leader of the Association, Ihor Kotelianets, Yefimenko has called on officials to be more communicative and transparent on these issues.

"If there are no categories that are prioritized for exchange - the seriously injured, women, children, those who have been imprisoned for a longer time - then all this creates great mistrust," Kotelianets wrote earlier on his Facebook page.

"We call on the Office of the President of Ukraine and the coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war to publicly present the exchange process," he added.

Under the "hell" of Russian captivity

After the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, in 2022, Ukrainian soldiers, mainly from the Azov unit, stayed for months at the Azovstal factory in Mariupol. This defense has been considered key in the preparation of the Ukrainian army near the front line. In May 2022, after almost two months of continuous shelling, the besieged Azov fighters surrendered, on the orders of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other military personnel who have defended Mariupol. In his post, Prokopenko mentioned that Azov's fighters have respected orders, so they should be priorities in the exchange process.

"This is a mockery of those who have been given guarantees, they have agreed to be taken captive, not only by their own will, but by order of the High Command."

About 2,500 soldiers have abandoned the factory, by Zelensky's decision. The Ukrainian military has described the developments as a "rescue operation".

Over the next three years, some of the soldiers who surrendered to Azovstal have faced convictions from the Russian authorities, on terrorism charges.

Other prisoners have been tortured and many others have died while in Russian detention, according to Ukrainian officials. It includes 54 Ukrainian soldiers who have died as a result of an explosion at the prison in the town of Olenivka in the occupied Donetsk region. Ihor Titovsky, a member of the Azov Brigade, who was among those who defended Azovstal and was later held in Olenivka, described the captivity under the Russians as "hell".

Recalling the transfers to prisons in the Rostov and Volgograd regions, Titovskiy also described the torture experienced there.

"For three days they interrogated me intensively, and hit me in the leg," he told the Ukrainian Radio Free Europe Service.

"In the period November - December 2022, I could not stand on my own two feet."

"They put a bag on my head and with their hands tied they threw me to the ground, two FSB officers sat on top of my body and used electric shock while they interrogated me," Titovskiy said.

"I had no idea what was happening. It was nothing like anything I had experienced before," he added.

Titovskiy was traded in September 2024. However, a significant number of Azov's military personnel continue to be under Russian detention. Kostyantyn Kozhekin, another member of the Azov Brigade, who spoke to Radio Free Europe, estimates that about 850 Azov fighters are being held by Russia.

Anastasia Hondul, the wife of an Azov fighter who is still being held in Russia, told Radio Free Europe that the family members of the prisoners live "desperately".

She said that although they have been promised that their voices are being heard, many of the fighters have not yet been released. After the latest exchange, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has said that Ukraine has managed to free 33 defenders of Azovstal from other military units. Yusov said that despite the complications imposed by Russia over the years, Ukraine has returned a total of 1,279 defenders of Azovstal - including 455 from the Azov Brigade./REL