The Russian Defense Ministry announced Thursday that 1,730 Ukrainian soldiers holed up at the Azovstal steel site in Mariupol had surrendered since Monday.
“In the last 24 hours, 771 fighters of the Azov nationalist regiment went to the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol. A total of 1,730 militants, including 80 wounded, have become prisoners since May 16,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry released a video showing soldiers exiting the steel mill and being checked by Russian soldiers before boarding buses. Among the Ukrainians, some are injured and some are on crutches.
These soldiers had been holed up in the underground galleries of the vast Azovstal Steelworks for several weeks, becoming an international symbol of resistance to the February 24 Russian offensive.
On Wednesday, when 959 soldiers had already surrendered, pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin said there were initially “more than 2,000 people” in the steel mill.
He had indicated that the commanders had not yet surrendered.
The Ukrainian authorities want to organize an exchange of prisoners of war, but the Russian authorities have repeatedly indicated that they consider at least some of them not soldiers but neo-Nazi fighters.
According to Denis Pouchiline, it is now up to the “court” to decide the fate of “war criminals” and “nationalists”.
The strategic port of Mariupol, where the industrial complex is located, was completely devastated by the fighting.