Russia delaying exchange of captured Azov soldiers – coordination headquarters
The Russian Federation is preventing the return of Azov prisoners of war by all means.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reports this on Telegram.
A meeting of the Coordination Headquarters with the families of servicepersons of the National Guard of the Separate Special Purpose Unit "Azov" was held.
The headquarters representative stated that the Russian side was delaying the return of the soldiers of "Azov."
"We can demand the return at least every day, but it won't change anything," he said.
The meeting participants also raised the issue of confirmations of capture by the Russian side.
The representative of "Azov" reported that not everyone left Azovstal under the supervision of international organizations on May 16 and 17, 2022.
The defenders were evacuated without representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. All their names were written down at the exit, and the lists were handed over to the National Guard of Ukraine. On May 18-20, observers of the ICRC interviewed those who were leaving the factory fortifications.
Photo: Telegram/Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
"We have the additional information from those who managed to be freed from captivity. We need to know where our boys are, and we demand their release. The type of record does not matter because Russia does not maintain any correspondence with us. That is, we cannot write to the Russian Federation asking to confirm this and that to us immediately. The enemy does not respond even to the requests of international organizations," the staff representative emphasized.
For reference:
On March 1st, Russian forces initiated a siege of Mariupol, culminating in the trapping of the city's last defenders inside the Azovstal plant by the end of April. During this period, those inside the plant, including wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, suffered from consistent shelling, as well as shortages of food, water, and medical supplies. On May 17th, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces reported the successful completion of their combat mission and instructed unit commanders to prioritize the safety of their personnel. Consequently, more than 2,500 defenders from Azovstal have been in Russian custody since their evacuation from Mariupol, with some having already been returned. Nonetheless, a considerable number of the defenders still remain in captivity.
It should be noted that on April 10, Ukraine returned another 100 service persons from Russian captivity. Among them are the defenders of Mariupol, Azovstal, and Hostomel.
Rubryka also wrote earlier that Ukraine had returned more than 2,000 defenders from enemy captivity since the beginning of the full-scale war with Russia.
