A "trial" of more than 20 Ukrainian military personnel took place in the south of Russia on Wednesday. They defended Mariupol and were captured by the enemy in May 2022.
This is reported by the Associated Press.
According to the publication, the Russians staged a trial over the "Azov" fighters. We are talking about 22 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The aggressor country cynically accuses Ukrainian defenders of so-called "involvement in a terrorist organization" and "participation in actions to overthrow the government of the DNR".
"If they are found guilty, the "Azovians" face punishment from 15 years to life imprisonment," the newspaper reported.
The AP also adds that of the 24 people who were charged with the so-called "charges", two were exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.
At the same time, of the remaining 22 prisoners of war who appeared before the "court", eight are women who, as the publication writes, worked as cooks in the "Azov" regiment.
Prisoners from "Azovstal"
We will remind that after the heroic battles for Mariupol, more than 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers were captured by the Russians last year, who held positions from the Azovstal plant until the last.
However, they received an order to leave and stop the defense. After that, when the fighters were captured by the Russians, Ukraine is engaged in the liberation of our defenders. Some of them have already been released. In particular, 5 Ukrainian commanders are in Turkey by agreement. Also, part of the Ukrainian servicemen returned home.
It is worth noting that the Russians previously wanted to hold a trial over the captured defenders of "Azovstal" in the occupied Mariupol. This was reported by GUR of the Ministry of Defense last summer. Now, as we can see, the aggressor country is setting up a court on its territory.
