"The operation started back in April, and Putin was the initiator": details of the release of 215 defenders of Ukraine from Russian captivity

UA SOUTH reports with reference to its own sources in Ankara close to the Turkish authorities.

Journalist Fevzi Çakır from HaberTürk noted that the release operation began back in April, when the Azovstal fighters had not yet received the order to surrender before being captured.

And the initiator of such an operation turned out to be President Vladimir Putin, who preferred to get back his crony, Viktor Medvedchuk, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine on April 12.

The exchange was prepared on the Turkish and Russian sides by the special services of the two countries, says another source of the publication. Four people in Ukraine knew about this: President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, head of President's office Andriy Yermak, head of military counter-intelligence Kyrylo Budanov and current head of the State Property Fund Rustem Umerov. The latter was then a People's Deputy of Ukraine from the "Golos" party and was responsible for communications with the Turkish side.

Umerov also joined the moderation of the release of ten foreigners by the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.

The part of the public's preparation for such an operation took place in parallel. Evidence of this is the video address of Medvedchuk's wife Oksana Marchenko to President Erdogan on April 13.

However, the President of Turkey Erdogan joined the process after Volodymyr Zelenskyi appealed to him.

The five commanders of the "Mariupol" garrison, Denys Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Serhii Volynskyi, Denys Shlega and Oleg Khomenko, will remain in Turkey under the personal protection of the Turkish leader until the end of the war. These are the terms of exchange. Now they are in a Turkish hospital. The other 200 defenders are in Ukraine.