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.
Viktor Medvedchuk was one of 55 people turned over to Russia in return for 215 prisoners, including 188 who held out for months against Russian assault at the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol early in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement late Wednesday. Among them were 108 members of the Azov brigade that Kremlin officials have long cast as “Nazis” destined for prosecution in their efforts to justify Putin’s invasion.
“It is not a pity to give Medvedchuk in exchange for real warriors,” Zelenskyy said. Those handed over to Russia included “people who fought against Ukraine. And those who betrayed Ukraine,” he said.
