“Women of Steel”: Ukrainian women demand the release of prisoners

Russia took thousands of Ukrainian fighters captive, including the defenders of Mariupol from the Azov Steelworks. In Kyiv, their wives, mothers and sisters have now spoken out.

After the capture of hundreds of Ukrainian fighters from the Azov regiment in the port city of Mariupol, the sisters, wives and mothers have called on Russia to release the men. The defenders of Mariupol heroically and on command defended the city against Russian attacks.

“They are heroes and must not be forgotten and must return home,” Natalija Zarizka told journalists in Kyiv. She is the initiator of the new organization “Steel Women” based on the men who held the fort for weeks at the Azov steelworks in Mariupol until the last of them went into captivity on May 20.

Sarizka and other women called on the international community to do everything possible to secure the men’s release. Prisoners of war also have rights, Sarizka said. She has had no contact with her husband since May 17th. He’s entitled to about two phone calls a week. “We stand together as women. Our strength is solidarity,” she said.

Putin promises lawful treatment

According to Russian information, about 2,500 fighters were taken prisoner. Hundreds surrendered between May 16 and 20 after waiting weeks in the underground tunnels of the Azov Steelworks. It is unclear where they are being held. Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross that the men would be treated in accordance with international legal standards. They should also receive medical care.

“This promise is the only hope that he will at least keep that,” said Sandra Krotevych about the Kremlin chief. Her brother Bohdan Krotevych (29) was deputy commander of the Azov regiment. “I don’t know where he is, how his health is. He is threatened with torture and ill-treatment in Russian captivity,” she told the dpa news agency in Kyiv. She hopes that he can return to Ukraine via a third country.

Separatists: Prisoners face the death penalty

According to a leading representative of the pro-Russian separatists, the prisoners face the death penalty. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Yuriy Sirovatko, the justice minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, as saying that for the “crimes” the fighters were accused of, “we have the most severe punishment: the death penalty”.

All “prisoners of war” are on the “territory of the DNR”, ie the self-proclaimed People’s Republic. Among them are 2,300 fighters from the Azov steelworks. Sirovatko added that the Azov regiment was “considered a terrorist organization” and that all fighters belonging to it were “under criminal investigation”.

The government in Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it wants to exchange Azov fighters for Russian prisoners of war. Moscow, on the other hand, said the Ukrainian fighters should be brought to justice. On Saturday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron called on Putin to release the captured fighters from the steelworks.