The Coordination Headquarters explained why the military, who betrayed Ukraine, returned from captivity.

Russia handed over the deserter to Ukraine

During the prisoner swap, the Russian Federation handed over to Ukraine a deserter who switched sides to the Russians in 2021. This was reported by Andrii Yusov, deputy head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Ukraine had no opportunity to influence the composition of the lists during the exchange procedure.

The exchange took place quickly, in less than a week, so the Ukrainian side could not influence its course. Ukraine handed over those prisoners it had, and Russia did the same - explained Yusov. Therefore, the exchange was based on previously prepared lists.

As reported by 'Glavkom', while in captivity, Anatolii Taranenko called on the Russians to torture Ukrainians and expressed a desire to obtain Russian citizenship to fight on the side of the enemy. This collaborator became a 'hero' of numerous materials in Russian media that accompanied Russia's aggression.

The call to action by Colonel Redis

Commander of 'Azov', Colonel Denys Redis Prokopenko noted that during the exchange, no soldier of the 12th brigade 'Azov' returned home, and in his place came a deserter who planned to harm the Ukrainian military. Redis called on the authorities to seek ways for the release of Azov soldiers from captivity.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense explained that in the format of the exchange 'one thousand for one thousand', there were no servicemen of the 12th Special Purpose Brigade of the National Guard 'Azov', as the list of released individuals was compiled by the Russians.

During the exchange of prisoners, the return of Ukrainian soldiers becomes complicated, while deserters and traitors constantly return to their homeland.