Parliament speaker meets with Azovstal defenders in Turkey.

Chairman of the Ukrainian parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk went to Turkey and met with Azovstal defenders who have been freed from Russian capture and are now under the protection of the Turkish government, the press service of Verkhovna Rada reported[1] on June 4. Azovstal steel plant was Ukraine's last stronghold in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, before the city became entirely occupied by Russia in May. As part of Ukraine's prisoner exchange with Russia that freed[2] 215 prisoners of war in September, it was decided that five top commanding officers of the Azovstal defense would live in Turkey until the end of the war.  

They include Azov Regiment commander Denys Propopenko, his deputy Sviatoslav Palamar, marine commander Serhiy Volynskiy, and members of the National Guard, Oleh Homenko, and Denys Shleh.     "All our defenders are determined to continue the fight and long to return home," Stefanchuk said. Stefanchuk, who called these men heroes, said the government is working on freeing other Ukrainian warfighters who have been captured by Russia.

"We have to return everyone. Because we value everyone."

Retired US General Petraeus: 'Now it's inevitable - we should give the ATACMS' The Kyiv Independent interviewed retired U.S.

General David Petraeus on the sidelines of a security conference held by the Cipher Brief in Kyiv on May 31. Petraeus is a four-star U.S. general who has commanded two wars. He has headed multinational forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has

Reporter

Igor is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously covered conflict in the Middle East, investigated corruption in Ukraine and man-made environmental damage in Southeast Asia. He has a Master's in Journalism from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and was published in the Kyiv Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Daily Beast and Foreign Policy.

References

1. ^ reported (t.me)
2. ^ freed (kyivindependent.com)
3. ^ Retired US General Petraeus: 'Now it's inevitable - we should give the ATACMS'The Kyiv Independent interviewed retired U.S. General David Petraeus on the sidelines of a security conference held by the Cipher Brief in Kyiv on May 31.

   Petraeus is a four-star U.S. general who has commanded two wars.

   He has headed multinational forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has (kyivindependent.com)