New Delhi: Ukrainian troops who surrendered at the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol now face an uncertain future as prisoners under Russian custody.
In a Telegram post on 18 May, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that 694 soldiers had surrendered, including 29 wounded personnel. The post also said that a total of 959 soldiers had surrendered since 16 May.
Denis Pushilin, leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), has been quoted by the CNN as saying, “At the moment, there are no top-ranking commanders — they have not left (the Azovstal plant). But this is for now.”
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has speculated that continued Russian air and artillery strikes indicate some troops might still remain inside the plant.
In a media briefing on 17 May, Hanna Malyar, deputy defence minister of Ukraine, said the Ukrainian state was trying to save those soldiers who had surrendered, according to a The New York Times report. Ukrainian officials have reportedly also mentioned a prisoner exchange for the surrendered.
But there has been no statement by Russian officials of a prisoner exchange so far. On the contrary, in a Telegram post on 17 May, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation said, “Supreme Court on 26 May to consider case on recognising Ukrainian Azov battalion as a terrorist organisation and banning its activities in Russia.”
The Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian news source, reported that Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, has proposed lifting the moratorium on death penalty for the sake of killing Azov fighters.
‘Over 60% Mariupol houses cannot be restored’
The Azov regiment has far-right roots, to the extent that it was formed as a volunteer militia in 2014 with many members holding extremist views, but the regiment has since been folded into Ukraine’s national guard. One of Russia’s stated aims behind the invasion is the ‘denazification’ of Ukraine.
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Ukrainian troops from the Azov regiment, the Mariupol City Council had on 18 May announced that the DNR was planning on demolishing the Azovstal steel plant.
Pushilin has been quoted by Mariupol Now as saying that “more than 60 per cent of the houses in Mariupol cannot be restored”. Moreover, the leader also reportedly said that “Mariupol will be restored” with a focus on resort business.
In reference to the city of Sochi, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics and was also among the host venues of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the ISW stated that “Russia does not need another resort town on the Black Sea. It does need the kind of hard currency that a plant like Azovstal had generated.”
This announcement came amid reports that movie theaters in Moscow were shutting down, possibly driving down consumer traffic at the capital. According to The Wall Street Journal, Google has also moved a majority of its employees out of Russia – emphasising the breakdown of the Kremlin’s ties with Western technology firms in view of the ongoing war.
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