Ukrainian commander denounces broken promises on Azovstal defenders’ release
Source: Denys Prokopenko/Facebook
On July 29, a day marking the tragic deaths of Ukrainian POWs in Olenivka prison, Azov Brigade commander Denys “Redis” Prokopenko voiced his frustration over the stalled prisoner swap, warning that it could reach a point where “there will be no one to exchange.”
Released from Russian captivity in September 2022, Prokopenko expressed bitterness over the nearly two-year-long neglect of the guarantees given to the Azovstal holdouts following their exit from the steel plant in besieged Mariupol.
The prisoner swap had been arranged by the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Russian officials, and Ukrainian leaders in May 2022. It promised the “preservation of each serviceman’s life, no torture, and prompt exchange.” However, Prokopenko agues, “The Russians, with their characteristic treachery, have ignored all these points.”
He condemned the killing of 53 unarmed Azov fighters in Olenivka, noting that modern history does not have similar examples of inhumane cruelty towards POWs.
The situation raises uncomfortable questions for the parties who acted as swap guarantors. Prokopenko questioned whether they “made all possible efforts, explored all options, and used the necessary leverage on the Russians” to ensure the promised prisoner exchange could happen three to four months after what Ukraine called their “extraction” procedure.
The Ukrainian military commander stressed that Ukraine is running out of time as the health of Ukrainian POWs deteriorates in captivity. “It is difficult to convey in words what one day in Russian captivity is like. There is no time. Constant torture, hunger, the demonstrative execution in Olenivka, illegal trials, and life sentences. Soon there will be no one left to exchange,” the embittered commander warned.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.