Ukraine’s intelligence services are in contact with the captured Azovstal steelworks fighters, and Kyiv is doing everything possible to ensure their release, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy late Friday.
The fate of hundreds of fighters taken into Russian custody in mid-May after being ordered to stand down has been unknown.
‘We are learning about the conditions of detention, nutrition, and the possibility of their release through them (intelligence services),’ Monastyrskiy said on Ukrainian television.
‘We all know they’ll be here in Kyiv, and we’re doing everything we can to make that happen.’
In May, Russia announced that nearly 2,000 Ukrainians had surrendered after a final stand in the ruins of Mariupol, where they had held out for weeks in bunkers and tunnels beneath the massive Azovstal steelworks. more info
Kyiv wants the fighters returned as part of a prisoner exchange. Some senior Russian lawmakers have called for the prosecution of some of the soldiers. The Kremlin has stated that the surrendered fighters will be treated in accordance with international standards.
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