Russian MoD Announces Surrender of 694 Ukrainian Soldiers from Azovstol

Russia claimed today that Ukrainian soldiers surrendered from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol in a day.

"In Mariupol, militants of the nationalist Azov unit and Ukrainian servicemen blocked at the Azovstal plant continued to surrender. Over the past day, 694 militants surrendered, including 29 wounded," Russian MoD spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by Interfax on Wednesday.

He claimed that 959 Ukrainian servicemen, including 80 wounded, have surrendered from Azovstal since May 16. Of these, 51 were admitted to the Novoazovsk hospital in the Donetsk People's Republic for treatment.

On Wednesday, the MoD released new video footage showing Ukrainian servicemen leaving the Azovstal plant in Mariupol and surrendering to the Russian army. A column of buses accompanied by a Russian armored personnel carrier and a vehicle of the military traffic police of the Russian Federation can be seen in the video.

On May 16, the Russian military reported that an agreement had been reached on the removal of the wounded Ukrainian military from the Azovstal plant, and a humanitarian corridor had been opened.

Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk expressed hope for the exchange of wounded Ukrainian soldiers after their recovery. "After their condition stabilizes, we will exchange them for Russian prisoners of war," Vereshchuk said on her Telegram channel.

Kyiv linked further negotiations with Moscow, including with the fate of the Ukrainian military and civilians who are blocked at Azovstal.

It was reported that on the territory of the plant, in particular, servicemen of the Azov regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine and Ukrainian marines who defended Mariupol took refuge.

Meanwhile, on May 17, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation announced that the Supreme Court of Russia at the end of May will consider the statement of claim of the Prosecutor General's Office on recognizing the formation of "Azov" as a terrorist organization and banning its activities in the Russian Federation. War criminals cannot be exchanged, they must be brought to justice, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the same day.