The Ukraine soldiers’ families say the bodies of some of the fighters killed defending the key south-eastern port of Mariupol have arrived in Kyiv. They say this was part of a swap with Russia, with each side receiving 160 bodies. The fighters spent weeks holed up in the city’s Azovstal steelworks, in May, while the survivors were taken prisoner. More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol have reportedly been transferred to Russia.
A Russian law enforcement source claim the soldiers, who were being held in locations controlled by Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, were moved to Russia for investigation. However, Moscow has not commented. Kyiv says Mariupol’s last defenders were given orders to save their lives after successfully completing their main goal of holding up Russian troops and not allowing them to be redeployed to other key battlefields. Moscow says the Ukrainian defenders were forced to surrender.
Chidozie Chima | September 20, 2024
