Ukraine's Azovstal commanders taken to Russia for 'investigation' amid war: Report

Nearly a month after Russia claimed that more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers, who were defending Mariupol surrendered, a Russian media report claimed some of the detained commanders were taken to the detention centres. According to the sources of the Russian news agency, TASS, several commanders of the Azov nationalist battalion have been taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention centre. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed the soldiers were arrested from the Azovstal steel plant. The law enforcement agencies claimed that the transfer of the top Ukrainian officers was carried out to initiate an investigation.

"Several commanders of Ukraine’s Azov nationalist battalion, who surrendered in Mariupol, have been taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention centre," said the source who did not wish to be named. Earlier, it was reported that Svyatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of the Azov battalion, and Sergei Volynsky, the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, were taken to some "unknown" location. With the new report, it is now clear that the Ukrainian soldiers were taken to detention centres.

According to the source, more than 1,000 soldiers were currently in detention centres. Meanwhile, another source in law enforcement agencies told TASS that more than 100 troops taken prisoner in Mariupol’s Azovstal works, including foreign mercenaries, might be kept in the Russian capital city. Notably, on several occasions, Russia bolstered its claims regarding the surrender of Mariupol troops but it is still unclear how many Ukrainian soldiers have been under the grip of Russia

Fate of soldiers who surrender stuck in limbo

The fate of those surrendered is still stuck in limbo despite the international call on Russia to release the Prisoner of Wars (PoW). The International Committee of the Red Cross gathered personal information from hundreds of the soldiers — name, date of birth, closest relative — and registered them as prisoners of war, as part of its role in ensuring the humane treatment of POWs under the Geneva Conventions. A rights group said in a tweet that the Ukrainian soldiers are now prisoners of war and as such “must not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment.”

Image: AP