Russia began to hand over the bodies of Ukrainian fighters killed at the Azovstal steelworks, the fortress-like plant in the destroyed city of Mariupol where their last fight became a symbol of resistance against Moscow’s invasion.
Dozens of bodies of fighters recovered from the ruins of the bombed-out factory, now occupied by Russia, were transferred to the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, where DNA tests are being carried out to identify the remainssaid Maksym Zhorin, a military commander and former leader of the Azov Regiment.
The Azov Regiment was one of the Ukrainian units that defended the factory for almost three months before giving up.
It is not clear how many bodies they may still remain in the factory, which was relentlessly bombarded by surrounding Russian forces from land, air and sea.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to fight for control of Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that is key to Moscow’s goal of complete capture of the Donbas industrial region.
Azovstal silver, now controlled by the Russians. AP Photo
The resistance
And Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said that Moscow’s forces also intend to capture the southeastern city of Zaporizhia, where more than 700,000 people live, a move that could severely weaken Ukraine’s position and allow the Russian military to advance closer to the center of the country.
“In the Zaporizhia region … there is the most threatening situation,” Zelensky said.
The tenacious defense of the steel factory by the Ukrainian fighters foiled the Kremlin’s goal of quickly capturing Mariupol and tied up Russian forces in the strategic port city. The last Azovstal resisters finally left the plant in May, marching unarmed and carrying their wounded.
The fate of the survivors in Russian hands is surrounded by uncertainty. Zelensky said that more than 2,500 fighters who defended the plant are prisoners of the Russians, and that Ukraine is working to free them.
Near the Azovstal plant, on a road leading to Mariupol. Photo EFE
The recovery of the remains of the fighters from the ruins of Azovstal was not announced by the Ukrainian government, and Russian officials have not commented. But relatives of soldiers killed at the plant spoke about the process with The Associated Press.
The Ukrainian government’s Ministry of Reintegration of the Occupied Territories announced on Saturday the first officially confirmed exchange of its military dead since the war began. He said that both parties they exchanged 320 bodies in total, each of which received 160 sets of remains. He did not give details about the provenance of the bodies.
The exchange took place on Thursday at the front line in the Zaporizhia region.
The Azov Regiment
The Azov Regiment is a unit of the National Guard originated in a group called the Azov Battalion, formed in 2014 as one of many volunteer brigades that sprang up to fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Azov Battalion attracted initial fighters from far-right circles.
Zhorin, the former leader of the Azov Regiment who now co-commands a kyiv-based military unit, confirmed that the remains recovered from Azovstal they were among those exchanged in the swap.
Azovstal was the symbol of the Ukrainian resistance. AP Photo
The brother of a missing Azov fighter, feared dead at the steel mill, told the AP that at least two trucks with corpses from Azovstal they were transferred to a military hospital in kyiv for identification. Viacheslav Drofa said the remains of his older brother, Dimitri Lisen, did not appear to be among those recovered so far.
He added that the bodies were recovered last week from the mill and some were badly burned.
The mother of a soldier killed in a Russian airstrike on the plant said the Azov Regiment phoned her and told her her son’s body could be among those flown to kyiv. The woman did not want her or her child to be identified by name, saying she feared talking about the recovery process might upset him.
A military vehicle at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Xinhua photo
With tears in the eyes he referred to his son as a hero.
“I am waiting for the body of my son,” he said. “It is important for me to bury him on our Ukrainian land”.
In other developments on Monday, Ukraine’s efforts to resist Russia’s invasion loomed over D-Day commemorations in France, where the 78th anniversary of the Normandy invasion was celebrated.
“The fight in the Ukraine it is to honor to these World War II veterans,” Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the Colleville-sur-Mer American Cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy.
He added: “This is about maintaining the so-called international order based on global rules that was established by the dead who are buried here in this cemetery.”
Meanwhile, the president of Ukraine’s separatist Donetsk People’s Republic said the region’s highest court is opening the trial of three British men who were allegedly mercenaries for the Ukrainian forces.
If convicted of the charges, including trying to seize power, the men could face the death penalty.
Russia also continued to attack targets in Ukraine.
Russian war planes long range missiles fired to destroy a plant outside the city of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkov region that was repairing armored vehicles, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said.
Russian aircraft hit 73 areas of concentration of Ukrainian troops and equipment, while Russian artillery hit 431 military targets, Konashenkov said. His claims could not be independently verified Ukrainian forces put up resistance in Severodonetsk.
They are more, they are more powerful, but we have every chance to fight in this direction,” Zelensky said.
AP Agency
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