Relatives of captured soldiers in Odesa pointed out a nuance during the exchanges

A rally in support of the prisoners and to remind them of the missing, which has become a tradition and takes place weekly, was held in Odesa on May 25.

The organizer of the FreeAzov movement, Anna Pazhera, emphasized that in the last exchange, not a single soldier of the Azov regiment was returned home, Novosti.LIVE reported.

This time, the weekly FreeAzov action started with a car rally: a column of cars decorated with flags and photos of the defenders drove through the streets of the city. The participants want to draw attention to the soldiers' long stay in captivity, especially to the situation with the Azov soldiers, who have not been included in any exchange lists for almost four years.

"During these three days, exchanges took place, and a thousand people were released. But again, there was not a single Azov among them. There was no place for the Azov brigade. And even more so for the convicted Azovs. We do not hear any hope, and meanwhile, the fourth year of hell, torture, and abuse has already passed. We are all waiting for our heroes to come home alive," says Anna Pazhera.

The convoy ended its journey in the center of Odesa, where a rally was already underway on Deribasovskaya Street. People were holding posters with the words "Bring back the heroes" and "Azov is still in captivity", as well as portraits of their relatives.

Participants emphasized that information about prisoners and missing persons should be more open and approaches to exchanges should be fairer. The action ended with a joint performance of the national anthem and a minute of silence for those who will not return.

On May 25, the final stage of the large exchange of prisoners in the thousand-for-thousand format took place - 303 prisoners returned to Ukraine.

On May 24, the second stage of a large prisoner exchange with the Russian Federation in the 1000-for-1000 format took place, and 307 defenders returned to Ukraine.

On May 23, the first stage of a large prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place. The exchange is conducted in a 1000-for-1000 format and will last three days. Then 307 prisoners returned - 270 military and 120 civilians.

On May 16, 2025, the first negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia in three years took place in Istanbul. As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed to exchange prisoners in the "1000 for 1000" format.

Кирило Бойко