The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that 959 Ukrainian military personnel stranded at the Azovstal steelworks in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol have surrendered since Monday.
“In the last 24 hours, 694 fighters were captured, 29 of whom were wounded. As of May 16, 959 fighters, 80 of whom were wounded, surrendered,” the statement said.
According to the statement, 51 of them were hospitalized in the town of Novoazovsk in the Donetsk region (east), which is controlled by the Russians and their separatist allies.
The ministry did not disclose the fate of the detainees. Russian officials have stated on several occasions that some are considered neo-Nazi fighters, not soldiers.
Ukrainian authorities want to organize a prisoner of war exchange.
The army settled in the labyrinth of underground galleries at the massive Azovstal steelworks, which became an international symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression on February 24.
The strategic city of Mariupol, where the industrial complex is located, was largely destroyed by the war and the Russian siege.
source: Noticias
