They are emaciated, exhausted, but alive, and now free. Against all expectations, kyiv announced, on the night of Wednesday September 21 to Thursday September 22, the release of 215 Ukrainian prisoners, of which 188 “hero” from the Battle of Azovstal to Mariupol, a port city in southern Ukraine razed by Russian bombing. Among them are 108 members of the Azov regiment, which the Kremlin nevertheless presents as the worst Nazi war criminals since the Second World War. Their fate remained uncertain since a missile strike hit Olenivka prison in the pro-Russian separatist region of Donetsk on July 29. About fifty Azovstal fighters, whose identity has not been revealed, were killed. Find the story of their release in this article by Marie Jégo, Benoît Vitkine and Faustine Vincent.
the “referendums” for the annexation of the territories occupied by the Russian forces have begun
