

"The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine. Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president's protection. Ukraine invasion - explained Putin's claim of fighting against Ukraine 'neo-Nazis' distorts history, scholars say Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant's tunnels and corridors. The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. He announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a grueling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday. It was unclear when the video was filmed. "Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!" "I want to thank - from here, from this place of victory - each of our soldiers for these 500 days," Zelenskyy said. Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island "is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory."

KYIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country's soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine's resilience in the face of the Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, stands next to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, at the Patriarchal Church of St.
