Ukrainians in Italy call on authorities to help free Mariupol defenders

The Ukrainian community in Rome has appealed to the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, to help release the defenders of Mariupol, announced Oles Horodetskyy, the President of the Christian Association of Ukrainians and Ukrainian community leader in Rome.

“On April 16, 2024, Ukrainians in Rome held a rally at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling on Minister Antonio Tajani and Italian diplomats to make maximum efforts to release/exchange Ukrainian prisoners of war – defenders of Mariupol from Moscow’s captivity,” wrote Horodetskyy.

Relatives and friends of the captured Ukrainian marines, Major Andrii Turas and Volodymyr Orel, spoke at the rally. The rally participants held national symbols, flags of military units – defenders of Mariupol, and posters about prisoners of war and their immediate release.

“We appeal to Minister Tajani to support Pope Francis’s call for the exchange of prisoners of war all for all and, using the country’s position as the chair of the Great Seven and contacts with international organizations, to activate diplomatic efforts for the release of Mariupol defenders,” said Oles Horodetskyy during the demonstration.

A requiem Plyve kacha po Tysyni (“A Duckling Swims in the Tisza”) for all the fallen defenders of Mariupol and Ukrainian Armed Forces was honored by those present. At the end of the rally, Oles Horodetskyy and relatives of the prisoners of war handed a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy via a representative.