The FSB was against the exchange of Azovstal defenders - WP

The FSB objected to the exchange of Azovstal defenders, which took place in late September, writes The Washington Post, citing American and Ukrainian officials. The service feared public outcry and a heavy blow to Moscow's reputation.

According to the interlocutors of the newspaper, the FSB, in particular, pointed to the uneven exchange of prisoners of war between Ukrainians and Russians, since there were almost four times more of the former: the Russian side received 55 military men and "Putin's godfather" Viktor Medvedchuk for 215 Ukrainians. Among them, moreover, were the commanders and fighters of the Azov battalion, which was recognized in Russia as a terrorist organization and banned.

The interlocutor in the State Department also points to a revealing story with Medvedchuk - only for him, according to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, 200 Ukrainian military men were exchanged. “In Ukraine, they widely celebrated the fact that they had returned home valiant fighters, and in Moscow they understood what Vladimir Putin really cares about and mercilessly condemned it,” the source emphasizes.

The exchange was facilitated by a group of influential people, including the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman ( released 10 more mercenaries were , including citizens of the United States and Great Britain) and the head of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and WP names Roman Abramovich as an intermediary involved in transmitting messages between Moscow and Kiev . Sources see the sanctioned oligarch's efforts as "a means to improve his standing in the West." A spokesperson for Abramovich did not respond to a WP request.

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The highest-profile prisoner exchange of the entire war took place on the night of the announcement of a partial mobilization that led to an exodus of Russian men abroad. Read more about it here .