Families of POWs from Olenivka call for the exchange of Shufrych and UOC-MP Metropolitan Pavlo for their relatives

The call was published on the community's Instagram page, according to ZMINA.

The families of the POWs believe that "it's time to exchange Kremlin agents for the Defenders of Mariupol." In their appeal, they mentioned not only Lebed and Shufrych but also "other collaborators, traitors, including Moscow priests."

The authors emphasized that the Ukrainian soldiers who survived the Olenivka attack have been held in dire conditions in Russian prisons since they were ordered to leave Azovstal by Ukraine's military-political leadership.

"In Russian prisons, without access to medical care, without the possibility of contacting their families, in isolation and under constant pressure, about 120 wounded Mariupol defenders are being held following the Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka, including 59 seriously wounded," they said.

In a comment to "Ukrainska Pravda," Maria Alekseyevich, the wife of a Ukrainian defender, recalled the exchange of Viktor Medvedchuk for Azovstal prisoners.

"In 2022, when there was talk of a possible exchange of Viktor Medvedchuk for Mariupol defenders, we were told it was unlikely and that Russia didn't need him. But he was handed over to Russia as part of an exchange on September 21, 2022, when 215 of our defenders, who had been held captive in Russia for four months, returned to Ukraine. Our relatives have been in Russian dungeons for two years, and we need to explore various avenues for their swift return," she said.

Members of the "Olenivka Community" are also asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to involve countries that have previously participated in exchanges—Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—in possible negotiations.

It should be noted that 900 defenders of Azovstal have been held in Russian captivity for two years. The families of the prisoners periodically hold rallies to remind the public of their plight.