Relatives of captured soldiers from one of Ukraine’s most successful military units have criticised their government for not pushing for the soldiers to be included in prisoner exchanges with Russia – and for allegedly telling them to keep quiet about the subject.
Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanised Brigade has defended the key eastern town of Izium since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February, and helped drive Ukraine’s recent counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region. In late September, president Volodymyr Zelenskyi personally thanked the unit for its ongoing “heroic” defence of Bakhmut, currently one of the fiercest points on Ukraine’s eastern frontline.
But the 93rd’s battlefield successes have not translated into consideration for prisoner exchange with Russia, relatives of soldiers from the unit have told openDemocracy.
