and read more news on our espresso tv website, a brief summary of the main points on the espresso tv news telegram channel and the most interesting information on the espresso tv youtube channel, subscribe to the channel, put your favorites and be with a ukrainian view of the world, i am iryna koval, i say goodbye to you and wish you all the best good evening and good night, watch espresso news and euro espresso programs for ukrainian refugees in europe on the air of our channel, joint broadcast with the atl channel , radio svoboda programs, voice of america time-time programs, inclusion of journalists of public television news programs bbc news ukraine and france 24 as well as the broadcast of the information marathon the only news together we are the strength glory to ukraine i welcome you on the

espresso channel today we will talk about the courage and the boundless devotion of our soldiers in the country and the order this is what has been demonstrated to the whole world is the defenders of mariupol, who for more than 80 days restrained and destroyed the overwhelming forces of the enemy, are the soldiers of the azov regiment of the national guard, the military of the armed forces of ukraine, in particular, the 36th marine brigade, the national police the border guards, the territorial defense of mariupol , now the azov fighters are fighting new battles in enemy captivity, and now the task is before us and before our authorities to do everything to free our fighters from russian captivity, my name is serhii zgodets, i am the director of the defense express company , which jointly with the espresso channel is trying to cover the most relevant events in the life of the ukrainian army and our defense-industrial complex, so we will talk about the defense of mariupol, the heroism of the azov people at the front and in captivity a serviceman of the armed forces of ukraine,

a volunteer of the azov regiment with the call sign mongol. greetings, my friend. glory to ukraine, glory to the nation. good day. now your brother is a soldier of the azov regiment, one of those who are in russian captivity. you decided to have this conversation after negotiations with representatives of the leadership of the azov regiment with the understanding that our conversation should not harm our military, who will now be captured by the enemy, on the other hand, we should not allow the liberation of our soldiers to be overshadowed by public attention, so i would like to start with a simple question, what it is important for you in this story, what we can talk about, what we can't talk about, it is important for me in this story, for me it is very important that the guys are those defenders of azovstal who courageously held out for 83 days in hell under

air strikes by artillery in front of the victorious enemy forces so that they all those who were captured, so that they all return home in full force, there are many of my brothers and sisters. yes, there is my brother. he is in captivity, and therefore every day i think that i am trying to do something so that they return. for me, it is the main price. when was the last time you spoke with your brother the day before they were ordered to get out of there? we talked about everything about the captivity. he didn't tell me. he was a little depressed, but he held on. we talked for a couple of minutes and with since then i had no direct contact with him, we will return to this stage at the beginning of the full and what and where did you

learn the information and what is happening directly in azovstal from the point of view of the introduction of hostilities where did you get the information or is it important you spoke with brother, when half of all the information was not yet available. i received e-mails from him from his brothers in those short minutes when they could connect to the internet and when they could access it . hostilities about what their condition was because it was hard for them then, it was very hard, so sometimes i just extracted information or my brother wrote a message in a telegram, but more or less i knew about it as well. in our territory, well, that is such a network, you understand the information from

each other well, and mainly from there, there was information when there was an opportunity for them to communicate. my personal opinion. i think that was the case, but i will repeat to you once again that they wanted to support the fighting spirit , that is, somehow, well, the conversation was not very much about it. i know how much, well, during the conversation, i saw that the boys very courageously, there was no drop in such moods of this psychological state, well, it was, and i know that you were directly involved in volunteer work related to the azov regiment for a long time, including providing the supply of many things to azovstal like this it took place

after february 24, since the full-scale invasions began. i was a volunteer from the 14th year, from the 13th to the 15th year, and then i went to serve with the azov regiment. combat as my brother came out on me directly, i said, well, i have the opportunity to help with cargo, but to collect what is needed there, since i have certain volunteer, well , good connections with good people from abroad , but i just don't know how to get everything there. well , i was given water an instruction was given, who should we contact, what kind, what type of cargo is needed, and there i had six points, and i and our entire team and all the people who were connected to it started working,

collecting cargo, and so, that's how we worked and how could it be possible to deliver goods to azovstali and who was surrounded by how it was done, look, we all already know the story about the delivery of cargo by helicopters, er, this information is here, the cargo that our team collected was delivered once starlink mobile phones well, a lot of what the guys said, and it was precisely this delivery that the cargo was based on, it's me, i know that well, about one delivery of this, then we collected the second cargo , but there was already such a dense environment that he it will just be, well, i couldn’t get there, the turntables weren’t

flying, that’s why i knew once that this cargo arrived together with these helicopters, that’s about it, friend. do you have more detailed information about how exactly this operation of the main intelligence department was carried out using helicopters because you are enough such a risky mission something about the fact that at 100 km deep our 8th flew there, despite the threat of enemy air defense, carried out a landing, took the wounded or any details to this story, what kind of team are we it can also be a sign of the defenders of mariupol and the pilots who carried out this mission, well, in more detail at our command, i don’t have any knowledge, only that this operation was the only one in history, that is, these helicopters traveled a very long distance

. 72 fighters were delivered from that territory to zastavlya, 72 fighters were also pledged as well as various cargo, but i do not have more detailed information than what i officially have. food, that is, logistical components that are necessary for obtaining defense. by what means was it delivered? look. well, my personal opinion until there was a complete encirclement of the environment. and it was delivered . that there were any options for land communication. well, as far as i know, we were already collecting the second cargo after the delivery of the first . some time passed, we

probably delivered it to the base, but there was also medicine and everything for the 36th for the approach of the anti-assault group medvedev is there in vinnytsia, the volunteers collected very good medicine and we collected it, but that cargo never came because there was no longer an opportunity. how did you personally react to the news that the mariupol fighters had to surrender? this was an order directly from the military leadership, and do you have any information about how the fighters themselves reacted to such a direct order of the military leadership. well, how did i react ? the defenders of azov steel, you understand, they had such a status that in front of a patient, they are, you know, this whole legend as a background, pure terrorists at first, i took a very aggressive approach to this, because i didn't understand, but then when i

cooled down, i realized that this is not all, everything is not done just like that, because the first task of any command is to save the lives of their subordinates, there is nothing more valuable than the life of one's own soldier. well, i understood that it is possible. well, it is impossible. and there are some negotiations that such a large number of people will simply be taken prisoner. regarding the attitudes of the soldiers of the azov steel, i can't tell you much either, because after the capture i didn't communicate. well oh, it's there through third parties there is information about their stay, what they felt. unfortunately, i don't know, but you. look at what the snake prophesies to us. they teach us how the boys behave. that is, there are voices, eyes, there is no such thing, there is no panic, there is no fear. the boys have fulfilled their duty. they are warriors . the defenders of that, well, of course , polonium is bad, but i think that there is, of course, a

bad mood and that's all, but well, here's the video those who shoot the russian snakes well, i see that the guys are not broken, by the way, we have a video of one of the fighters of azov who there they are trying to interrogate the rashists and we are here let's see the decent behavior of our soldiers now so that the audience can also see it. it was an order from our command from above.

at that moment, if i threw food, there was very little water , and they distributed it to everyone and to the wounded. i would have carried out the order to the last. everyone in order to ensure unity even in such difficult conditions. and at the same time , information spread through a number of channels that there were frictional contradictions within the defenders of azov . of our viewers, what are the risks and threats of such actions? they asked us about the formation of their own information background

around the defenders of mariupol. once someone tried to achieve something with russia, we all see that it is true and there are no achievements, it is impossible to believe what they say in the russian mass media , this is nothing, look at this, everything is being done, and that well there, the azovians did not share with the other units, they were from the top and in the first place they will change only the azov citizens, uh , you understand, it’s all about paganism, and it’s all in the information game of the fsb and the russian special services , this is what it’s for, why is it being done, to make uh, um, retail, our society, to make us quarrel among ourselves, what’s up, yeah at all in those food was taken away from them and not shared with them, well, you understand that everything that is said on russian television

is why gray is a sin, the price is not the same. it is not that there is an emotional one. my opinion, just give him an analysis because what russia says on its channels. how strong is their propaganda, there was no such thing this is an information war, this is propaganda in order to divide us in order for us to start quarreling in order for us to fight . yes, not so, not so. the main goal of the enemy is to destroy our unity. that is why all kinds of information are being conducted. you see that we we have information about the program from er well, only from their mass media, from their media, we don’t see it in theirs we don’t see independent er journalists there we haven’t seen yet, well at the moment we haven’t seen no information from the red cross or any other independent organizations, these are all throwaways in order to divide us. and it is not necessary to act on this at all. everything that the russian federation says on its channels is just a lie and we know about it. i

absolutely agree with such approaches and such an assessment. at the same time, going back a little where there were a number of appeals to the heads of various states, to the un, to the red cross, to the pope , to ensure the possibility of evacuating the defenders of mariupol to third e-e countries, these negotiations did not give e-e results , it is also known that at a certain stage , attempts were made by the fighters of mariupol on their own break out of captivity do you have any information specifically about the possibilities of organizing events to escape from captivity on your own , see the information that the boys somehow tried to break out during the growing season. i don't have such information. but what happened an attempt to break through this blockade, to break through from this side, a detachment of 150 men was created

and moved to azov, kyiv, and that was the point. they wanted to break through. gunpowder unraveled backwards, there was an asis honed a whole btgr enemy and therefore well, this plan was implemented, but as a result of the fact that it was unraveled, there were very fierce battles, there were a lot of lost on our side and wounded , and therefore the plan was not looked into, and in the future the enemy already controlled and blocked with all his might similar attempts, but did the guys try to break through from that side? i honestly don't know the calls of various politicians that we should form a connection there and wedge our way through the defenses of the russians to mariupol in order to

free our soldiers, how realistic are these calls? how much they were perceived by the azov residents themselves, if you know about it, what do you know? do you know politics? i don’t want to be in power. i do n’t want to . you know what, guys, we - well, i trust our top military leadership, that's the same thing. it's clear that the reception of me is audible so audible audible-loud here and there and these calls were made by politicians that let's get together let's go fire there -judge i don't know how the guys felt about it realistically, they are professional soldiers and they understood that, well, we don't have the strength and measures at that moment to break through that defense by military means, and i say once again that

our military leadership is very professional, i trust him, that is, he speaks, let them speak their calls, well, no was possibilities at that moment, so i don’t know how else to comment on it, but if the guys from there understood when i talked with my brother, he said seryoga, maybe there are some options there, sani says there are no options. we don’t have such measures. from here, free otak , here is the situation, that is, they were ready to stand to the last, understanding all external threats and understanding the importance of their mission in this war , so they were ready to stand to the last, and they stood heroically. they stood before the overwhelming forces of the enemy, there were few of them there were several thousand and they were opposed by a group of 14,000 professional russian soldiers, a large number of technicians , crazy aviation support, ship

artillery, rockets, well, it was just hell, but the guys stood and they endured and they fulfilled their order, their order, so honor and praise to him and they fulfilled the same the order to go into captivity, they are professional soldiers and acted according to the order. is there any such general information today regarding the number of our soldiers killed and the number of those who are currently in captivity ? i don't have the numbers. i know that there was an exchange of the bodies of the dead recently. i'm sorry, 160 of our circles were taken to kyiv, a third of them are azov, and the rest are identified . i don't know what our prisoners are, a little more than two thousand, well, i don't have exact numbers. well, that's what the president said about 2 500 fighters from azovstal who are in captivity, is there any

information on where they are now, well, for information, a few days ago, i know that they were there where they were taken, they were all together, now they are on the territory of that colony. well, it is also a few days. in my opinion, yesterday's information or the day before yesterday's information, i had contact through third parties, there i learned the information, it seems that the living conditions more or less feed them, but they follow them. well, there is no bullying, but i also say that the information was provided from captivity, that is, statements by independent persons. well, no. there are no independent journalists or any other , well, here is the information so far, they are all in one place, and how is the issue with the bodies of the victims of the dead regarding their identification, the transfer of the victims to the

families of the victims, how is it organized? you know who is responsible for this, i am not competent in this matter, i think well, my opinion is personal. i think that this is done by the azov patronage service, as well as the red cross . well, i am not competent to answer. well, i do not know. does your volunteer organization directly contact those newly created e- associations of wives of mariupol soldiers who today are active enough to ensure the resolution of a number of organizational issues that arise around the identification of bodies and the return of azov soldiers do i have contacts with the families of the azov citizens? of course, i maintain relations with the wives, and such relations. and with some persons,

if you know, such a structure of the aroma family has been created. where do the batteries come from ? direction of work i continue to deal with , if possible, help the units in azov , those that are fighting quite successfully, that is, it is a little out of my parish to deal with this issue, do you believe that it will be possible to solve the issue of the exchange of our servicemen, although we we are negotiating with the most insidious country of the russian federation. what are your feelings of expectation and hope? you must always believe. and yes, i believe, although you correctly said that it is an insidious enemy that only exists, that does not keep any agreements, that

does not keep its word, promises. realistically, if you think like this, it is very difficult because that this is a very big visor of prisoners, prisoners, and russia will somehow use it, but directly. i have a lot of faith and believe in our military leadership. i think that an agreement will be reached well, some sort of agreement was found and the boys will return home. how do you feel about the wild measures of the russian state duma that our soldiers should be tried in russia and sold to this? there are always games of the people of riga about talking to russia, you understand, well, they do not observe international law, an engineer does not observe anything, that is,

if you think logically, there is a risk, but they are on the international stage and so now they it's not good for me, well, my personal opinion. i believe that this is all manipulation, this is all propaganda , everything that is aired there, that they will be tried according to their laws, the death penalty, that's what i spoke about, i forgot the last name, it's their alleged dnr, there some uncle told us that we we will sentence those to eternal imprisonment. i think this is done for ukrainian society, too. well, for propaganda purposes, or to intimidate, to raise the price for exchange . after all, they got out of there not just like that, so i think there were some serious agreements. in other words, you need to believe again, and you need to never forget about the boys, but you need to talk about them, because somehow something went wrong

. after they were captured, there was a little less talk about them, but that was the way it was at first, but now we must remember them again, remind, i will not forget them in any way, these are our boys, each of our boys must return home, did you remember about the fact that you maintain contact with your brother through third parties. how permanent are these channels, is it known about our people who are injured, whether they are not provided with medical assistance, that is, those people who urgently need it, or are there any other related details with the conditions of the stay of our military in russian captivity, well, look at the third channel, about third parties, who i will not talk about , so the connection is very short, very short-term, well, i mean the living conditions, more or less, they say, they

feed, but, of course, it is difficult the prisoner is all the more prisoner of the prison, this information is there pressure on our prisoners from the side there , the fsb or other bodies of the russian federation that i definitely want to get let's say yes, well, people from the broken so that later it can be shown again through that television or some details of these i have not heard of such measures. no one has ever told me about this, that is, a loyal relationship. is it possible to transfer food to our prisoners, or is this a rather complicated issue? i think that this issue should be dealt with by official organizations, and i i think that this is a very difficult question, but it should be resolved at the political level, if we are talking about the political level, in particular, there is the

red cross, which is actually one of the parties to this negotiation process, how do we hope, or is there a feeling that the red cross is really involved to ensure that our soldiers are kept in conditions that meet the requirements of the geneva convention and whether the red cross is really making efforts to make this process civilized from the point of view of the exchange of prisoners of war information about the activities of the red cross and its representatives, you know, yes, the red cross does some work, but information about what, well, security information directly from them, we did not see any reports from them or anything else that they were allowed to visit the wounded well, maybe i didn't see it somewhere on the air or something else, well, i have information that it's difficult to deal with this for the time being. that is , we have so far the information that the russian propaganda media provide us today, the name of azov remains the same a significant irritant for the russian federation

, and we already have several units in ukraine that bear this proud name, but please tell us the whole history or the current situation of which units we have called azov, how they are created and who controls them that in addition to the azov regiment, we see many other units with exactly the same name, the structure, see, there was one time. so now we will try to call our guest right now. we are talking about the fact that the azov units exist now in the national

guard in the armed forces in the special forces of operations in one is also created in the units of the terrodefense and each of them carries on the one hand such a clear and er loud name of azov on the other hand tries to meet the high standards of combat training that the azov regiment itself directly demonstrated defending mariupol ideological foundations that were laid at the basis of the creation of this unit and now remains a certain standard for ukrainian soldiers if we talk about courage and observance of military honor and the execution of military orders. now we have our guest on the air again. monologue i want to continue the story about how many azos exist today, what is the relationship between them and why so many of these structures are beginning to appear in various power structures