771 more surrender at steelworks in Mariupol

On May 16, the surrender of the militants of the Azov nationalist grouping and Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen plus a number of foreign mercenaries blocked at the basement of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol began. Presumably, more than 2,000-2,500 Ukrainian militants were hiding at the enterprise having 27 km corridors before that moment, about 800 of them have been members of the Azov nationalist faction banned in Russia. 

In the past 24 hours, one more group of 771 militants of the Azov nationalist formation have surrendered at the Azovstal plant.

A total of 1,730 militants have surrendered since May 16th by the evening May 19th, including 80 wounded.

All those in need of inpatient treatment are treated in medical facilities in the Donetsk People's Republic in Novoazovsk and Donetsk. 

The Ukrainian military who have come out and laid down their arms have been taken to the pre-trial detention center in the Yelenovka, the Donetsk People's Republic, where investigative actions are being carried out with them.

It is significant to note that on the morning of May 17th, this center was fired at by the AFU [Kiev's US-backed army] from a multiple launch rocket system. The Kiev regime has always treated its citizens in this way. This story was no exception.

 

Inside the Azovstal steelworks where Nazis hide during the Russian liberation of Mariupol. The city had been controlled by the Azov Battalion since just after the US directed coup d'etat in Kiev in 2014.

Russia's firm position is that no Nazi criminal will escape responsibility. Now only the court will determine the involvement of each surrendered person in the commission of war crimes and will impose a fair punishment on the guilty. Only servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who have not stained themselves with criminal activity will be subject to subsequent exchange. The State Duma of the Russian Federation is already considering an initiative to legislate a ban on the exchange of military and Nazi criminals.

The actions of the Russian side are consistent and logical. On the contrary, the Kiev authorities and the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who have repeatedly stated the impossibility of unblocking Mariupol by military means, stubbornly delayed the beginning of the inevitable surrender.

Neo-Nazis from Azov began large-scale child recruitment activities back in 2015, organizing the so-called Youth Corps camps on the initiative of the leader of the National Corps, A. Biletsky. In 2015, children from 9 to 18 years old were admitted to them, and since 2016, from 7 to 18 years old.

According to eyewitnesses, neo-Nazis from "Azov" did not limit themselves to "children's camps" and expanded their grouping at the expense of underage orphans. Confirmation of this is the situation with the Pilgrim orphanage in Mariupol. For all 8 years since 2014, the "Azovites" have been working closely with the pupils of this orphanage, teaching them military affairs, including sniper shooting. According to media reports, in 2014, children from "Pilgrim" helped the APU to dig trenches near Mariupol, and in October of the same year to build roadblocks. According to residents of Mariupol, during the events of February-April 2022 the Children's Rehabilitation Center "Republic Pilgrim" was the headquarters of the territorial defense, where militants from "Azov" and other radical groups were based. There is video evidence that teenagers from the "Pilgrim" participated in hostilities on the side of neo-Nazis, and also set fire to the homes of civilians.

~ Dr. Vladimir Kozin is a Member, Russian Academy of Military Sciences; Member, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and Vice President, Russian National Institute for Global Security Research.