Defenders of Azovstal are in occupied territory of Donetsk region - National Security and Defence Council
DENIS KARLOVSKY - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022, 9:48 P.M.
Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov has said that most of the Ukrainian servicemen evacuated from Mariupol are in the occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast.
Source: Danilov's comment on the all-Ukrainian 24-hour live national television channel
Danilov's Quote: "Not just our country is involved in these processes - there are international institutions that are helping in this. The main thing here is not to do any harm. There is a lot that should not be said. We will wait for existing agreements to be fulfilled, and all the guys and gals who are in captivity today, who have made it through Mariupol, are sure to return alive and well.
I emphasise once again: the main thing here and now is not to take unnecessary steps so that the aggressor does not accuse us of disrupting certain things. This is a very delicate matter.
There is information that they are in the Donetsk region. I emphasise once again: the number of people is not 100 or 200 people, it is much more. And that's why we can't say for sure that everyone is there. We can definitely say that the vast majority, maybe all, are in the Donetsk region."
Background:
- Representatives of the Ukrainian special services confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda that the Azov regiment's fighters are in a penal colony in captured Olenivka in the Donetsk region. In the coming days, Russian propagandists may use the defenders of Mariupol for their own purposes.
- Ukrainska Pravda sources in the Ukrainian government claimed that 2,449 Ukrainian servicemen were being held captive in Olenivka.
- The defenders of Mariupol entered the Russian-controlled territory on 16-20 May. According to the Russian side, 2,439 fighters came out of the Azovstal bunkers. Representatives of the Red Cross registered the Ukrainian defenders as prisoners of war.
- The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the Mariupol garrison had fulfilled its combat mission and that the commanders had been ordered to save the lives of their personnel. The Ministry of Defence explained that there was no other way to save the defenders from Azovstal, except to come out to the enemy without their weapons.
- The Russians and their CADLR (Certain Areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions) accomplices are threatening Azov fighters with a lawsuit. An exchange of prisoners has not been discussed yet, despite agreements.
