Denys Leonti

"0". That is the number of servicemen from the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine who were at the forefront of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the battles for Mariupol who returned from captivity today in the largest exchange since the full-scale invasion. Of course, we are sincerely happy for every Ukrainian soldier who has been exchanged; we congratulate every family who will see their son, father, and husband alive and be able to hug them. However, over 900 Ukrainian families: mothers, wives and children of the soldiers who fought for 86 days to save the country and repel enemy forces in the occupied Mariupol under inhumane conditions with minimal ammunition, food and medicine, will not be able to do so today. More than 900 soldiers, on whose shoulders lay the defense of a city of half a million people, more than half of whom were wounded and who were treated most harshly in captivity, are forgotten and still in the hands of the enemy. The soldiers of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine, at the limit of human capacity, accomplished the impossible and fulfilled the orders. Is each of us, in our respective capacities, doing everything we can to ensure that the captured Azov soldiers who heroically defended their country return to Ukraine as soon as possible?