Participation in the Event “Defenders of Mariupol — 2 Years in Captivity”
As part of a working visit to the United Kingdom, a delegation of servicemen from the Azov Brigade and representatives of the Association of Azovstal Defenders' Families took part in an event titled “Defenders of Mariupol — 2 Years in Captivity”, held at the Reform Club in London.
London, 2024
Among the participants were former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, former Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace, Member of the House of Lords Lord Michael Ashcroft, Member of Parliament and Chair of the UK–Ukraine Friendship Group Bob Seely, Member of Parliament Jack Lopresti and former leader of the Conservative Party Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
In their speeches, Boris Johnson and Ben Wallace emphasized that the feat of the defenders of Mariupol played a key role in giving Ukraine time to receive support from its allies at the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Azov lieutenant Arsenii “Protses” Fedosiuk and unit veteran Ruslan “David” Serbov, who endured russian captivity, shared detailed accounts of what is happening to the captive defenders of Mariupol in russian prisons. They also reminded the audience of the bloody terrorist attack carried out by russians in Olenivka, where 53 Azov prisoners of war were killed and around 130 were injured.
Representatives of the Association Kateryna Prokopenko, Yuliia Fedosiuk, and Yevheniia Synelnyk spoke about russia’s violations of all provisions of the Geneva Convention and the so-called “trials” held against the captive defenders of Mariupol. They also emphasized that the russian side refuses to exchange Azov fighters, who have not been included in exchange lists for over a year.
Junior Sergeant Volodymyr “Zelandiia” Vernyhora stressed the need to raise awareness of the situation faced by the unit’s prisoners of war and called on British politicians to use all available levers of influence to bring Azov fighters back to their families.
