Yermak reveals details on Azov commanders' return from Türkiye

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said this in an interview with LB.ua, Ukrinform reports.

"The two presidents agreed on this. No additional conditions were put forward by Türkiye," Yermak said.

He explained that it was a very important visit of the President of Ukraine to Türkiye, during which many topics were raised.

"I can say once again: few leaders in the world have such relations as President Zelensky and President Erdogan. This is very important and was important on the eve of the Vilnius Summit because we need Turkey's support. Of course, we also talked about the grain initiative and many other topics. Regarding the "Azov regiment fighters", indeed, President Zelensky addressed President Erdogan. And then he confirmed that after President Zelensky's address, they agreed that it was possible for our heroes and commanders to return to Ukraine right now," Head of the Presidential Office said.

According to him, the Azov commanders had already been in Turkey for quite a long time, and although they had normal conditions there, we need to understand what these guys went through.

"I would like to thank our Turkish partners and friends for ensuring their safety. But the time has come. And it was certainly difficult for them to stay there, knowing what is happening in Ukraine right now. The war is not over yet, and it was psychologically very difficult for them, for the people who defended Azovstal," Yermak said.

He noted that it was not in his competence to say whether the commanders would return to the front.

"They are in the National Guard today. I think this will be decided by the National Guard command, the military command," he said.

As Ukrinform reported, five Azov regiment commanders who were released from Russian captivity in September 2022 were supposed to stay in Türkiye until the end of the war, according to an agreement with President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

These are the commander of Azov, Hero of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko (Redis), his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar (Kalyna), acting commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade Serhiy Volynskyi (Volyn), Oleh Khomenko and Denys Shleha from the National Guard of Ukraine. However, on July 8, during Zelensky's visit to Türkiye, they were all brought back to Ukraine.