The Russian side has begun handing over the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers who died at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol to Ukraine, said Maksym Zhorin, a military commander and former Azov leader.
This was reported by the Associated Press.
Dozens of bodies taken from a bombed-out plant now occupied by Russians have been transported to Kyiv, where DNA testing is underway to identify the remains.
The Azov Regiment was among the Ukrainian units that defended Azovstal for almost three months.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
- On the evening of May 16, the process of removing Ukrainian servicemen from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol began. More than 250 fighters were the first to leave. At that time, 53 seriously wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in occupied Novoazovsk. Another 211 servicemen were sent to the occupied settlement of Olenivka.
- On May 19, members of the International Committee of the Red Cross were able to visit some Ukrainian servicemen who had left the Azovstal plant in Mariupol and were in occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast. The visit was confidential, details of the conditions of detention of Ukrainian defenders are not disclosed.
- On June 5, the wife of a Mariupol defender said that the pre-trial detention center in Mariupol was overcrowded and that food and water needed to be improved.
- Today, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 2,500 defenders of Mariupol are in Russian captivity. He believes that it is unprofitable for the Russians to torture the Ukrainian military from Azovstal because they are "public prisoners." Zelensky also noted that their release is being handled by the Central Intelligence Agency.