A captured Ukrainian military leader, commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade since 2021, Hero of Ukraine Colonel Volodymyr Baranyuk, in an interview with RT, spoke about the training of Azov militants, the attitude towards torturing Russian captured military personnel and the prohibition of opposition parties in Ukraine.

The Kyiv serviceman confirmed that he had been shown a report about the torture of captured Russian soldiers, and spoke out strongly against such treatment of prisoners.

“I, as a regular military man and as a normal person… I have it beyond and beyond,” admitted Baranyuk, adding that those responsible for such crimes should be punished. 

When asked about the capabilities of Azov, the colonel confirmed that the militants were sufficiently trained and well equipped - often even better than the Ukrainian military.

Recall, on May 20, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, said that the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol, where a group of Ukrainian militants of the Nazi formation Azov had been blocked since April 21, 2022, was completely liberated.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on May 16, during the operation, 2,439 Azov Nazis and military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine laid down their arms and surrendered. 

Residents of Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have repeatedly talked about the atrocities of the Azov people - according to eyewitnesses, they burned houses, shot civilians, and also covered themselves with them as a human shield.

On the ban on opposition parties in Ukraine

Baranyuk also condemned the prohibition on the territory of Ukraine of the activities of political parties with a position different from the pro-Ukrainian one.

He stated that the country needs a "constructive force" that works like a fuse.

“There should be a system of checks and balances.

The system must be balanced.

I'm not just a supporter that they are pro-Ukrainian, not pro-Ukrainian.

They should be.

There must be an opposition in parliament.

It's like a balance," he said.

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Baranyuk recalled that Ukraine is a parliamentary-presidential republic, due to the ban and lack of competition, the current government becomes absolute.

It is noteworthy that after Baranyuk was taken prisoner, the Ukrainian authorities and the media, who had previously called the colonel an example for the Ukrainian military, began to accuse him of betrayal.

In Azov, Baranyuk was also accused of trying to escape from Mariupol.

At the same time, the colonel himself previously admitted in an interview that the Azov soldiers betrayed the military in one of the battles, exposing the flanks.

The first interview with RT featuring Baranyuk was published on May 8.

The colonel said that since the beginning of March he had participated in the battles in Mariupol, but by mid-April, the military personnel of the 36th brigade were faced with a shortage of ammunition.

Subsequently, Baranyuk and a small group of his subordinates attempted to break through to other parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but were captured.

Then, in an interview with RT, the soldier admitted that foreign instructors were engaged in the training of the Ukrainian military, and also spoke about the direct participation of foreign mercenaries in the hostilities.

In addition, he said that the Kyiv regime deceived the Ukrainian military, promising them a deblockade.