The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War has reported that Russia is hindering the return of Ukrainian Azov soldiers from captivity.
At the initiative of Women of Steel NGO, the Coordination HQ hosted a meeting with the families of the Azov Assault Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. Representatives of the Coordination HQ, the National Guard of Ukraine, the National Police and the Azov Brigade answered the questions of the relatives.
A representative of the HQ said that Russia was hindering the return of the Azovs.
"We can demand their return every day, but it will not change anything," he said.
It is noted that the issue of confirmation of captivity by the Russian side was also raised at the meeting. The Azov representative said that not everyone left Azovstal under the supervision of international organisations. On 16 and 17 May 2022, the defenders were evacuated without representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, on the way out, all their names were recorded and the lists were handed over to the NGU. On 18-20 May, ICRC observers questioned those who left the plant's fortifications.
"We have additional information from those who were released from captivity... It is important for us to know where our guys are, and we demand their release. The type of accounting does not matter because Russia does not conduct any correspondence with us. That is, we cannot write to the Russian Federation to ask them to confirm this and that immediately," the HQ representative explained.
He noted that Russia does not even respond to requests from international organisations.