Russians offered captured Azov defender a "Donetsk People’s Republic" passport – interview with a fighter

ALONA MAZURENKO — FRIDAY, 15 JULY 2022, 18:10

Azov fighter Denys Piskun, aka "Combat", who has returned from captivity, said that the occupiers offered him a "DPR" [self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic] passport and threatened to shoot him if he refused to cooperate.

Source: interview with a soldier who has returned from Russian captivity on the Azov Regiment YouTube channel

Quote about being interrogated by the occupiers: "[The occupier] started to suggest cooperating when he found out that I was from Mariupol. He said, ‘You can get a "DPR" passport, all charges will be dropped, you’ll take a different name and surname, the only thing you won’t be able to do will be registering a business in your name.’ I said I wouldn’t agree to this.

They said that if I did not testify, we would face the death penalty. That we would be recognised as a terrorist organization in court and all of us would be sentenced to the death penalty according to the court's verdict.

I said that if I was going to be shot, so be it. We all said so."

Details: The defender said that the occupiers are trying to discredit Denys Prokopenko (aka "Redis"), the commander of the Azov regiment, but they are not succeeding.

In particular, the Russians interrogate the Ukrainian soldiers and ask provocative questions.

According to the Azov defender, Russian reconnaissance groups had been placed in Mariupol even before the start of the full-scale aggression.

"Combat" returned from Russian captivity at the end of June.

During the fighting in Mariupol, he received numerous bullet wounds and was taken to the Azovstal shelter.

In the interview, the soldier recalls the difficulties of everyday life in the underground hospital: aerial bombs that destroyed the premises, and soldiers from neighbouring units who felt hopeless and tried to kill themselves.

"Combat" also talked about the people of Azov who, despite the loss of loved ones, amputations and painful wounds, continued to help hold the defence.

Reminder:

Another Azov fighter who returned from Russian captivity said that the Russian occupiers were trying to beat false provocative information out of them about the Azov leaders who were at Azovstal – Commander Denys "Redis" Prokopenko and his deputy Sviatoslav "Kalyna" Palamar.