May 20 marked the second anniversary of the end of the heroic defense of Mariupol and the second anniversary of the captivity of the city's defenders. The extremely difficult defense of the city lasted from February 24 to May 20, 2022, for 86 days, 82 of which the Mariupol garrison fought against the superior enemy forces in a complete encirclement. Since then, the garrison's defenders have been going through a terrible hell of captivity for almost two years.

Today, a large-scale protest was held in Vilnius to remind the world of the captured heroes and to support the families of the defenders. Hundreds of participants marched through the central streets of the Lithuanian capital to the main square of the city – Cathedral Square, where speeches were delivered by Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Petro Beshta, Head of the Blue/Yellow Foundation Jonas Ohman, and representatives of the Ukrainian Youth Group in Lithuania – Maryna Bozhyk and Pavlo Zaskoka.

"Today, Ukraine is uniting international efforts to bring back all Ukrainian prisoners of war, including the Azov regiment, all illegally detained civilians, and deported Ukrainian children home. We must do everything possible and impossible to return the heroes to their native land as soon as possible. This task has been included as a priority in the agenda of the Global Peace Summit to be held on June 15-16 in Switzerland," the Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania emphasized in his speech.

A performance was also held during the action – the participants recreated the image of prisoners with bags on their heads and their hands tightly tied. This horrific image symbolizes the cruelty faced by Ukrainian defenders in captivity – incommunicado, physical and mental torture, and starvation. At the end of the event, the participants read a prayer of the heroes of the Azov regiment and formed the words of a critical call on the square – #FreeAzov.

We thank all our Ukrainian and Lithuanian friends who were with us! We thank everyone who is fighting for the freedom of Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!