Russia immediately denounced the release. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ankara had promised under the exchange agreement to keep the men in Turkey and complained Moscow had not been informed.
In honour of the 500th day of the war, Zelenskiy also visited Snake Island, a Black Sea outcrop which Russian forces seized on the day of the invasion and later abandoned.
The five commanders have been lionised in Ukraine after leading a fierce three-month defence of Mariupol from the Azovstal steel plant last year, the biggest city Russia has captured.
"We are returning home from Turkey and bringing our heroes home," said Zelenskiy, who met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Istanbul on Friday.
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