Still 700 Azovstal defenders in captivity

Wives and mothers of Azov fighters told about the realities of the prisoner exchange. They stated that 700 defenders are still in captivity.

It is a myth that Ukraine has returned all "Azov" from captivity

Participants of the NGO "Council of Wives and Mothers of Defenders of Ukraine "WOMEN of STEEL" stated that the public opinion that all "Azov" soldiers have returned from captivity is false.

"There is an opinion in the Ukrainian society that the history of Azovstal is over and all Azovs have returned home. This is not true. Now thousands of Ukrainian families are living in their own personal hell, having no information about the fate of their relatives who stood up to defend Ukraine and ended up in the hands of the enemy or disappeared. Fortunately, exchanges have begun and our fighters are returning to Ukraine. We are grateful to everyone involved in these exchanges for their titanic work. It is positive that at least several people are exchanged for Azovstal defenders. But among them there are no fighters of the Azov regiment, to which the Russians have a special attitude," said Natalia Kravtsova.

Russians have captured many civilians

In addition, the Russians have been holding captive for months not only the military but also the civilians of Ukraine, whose fate is still unknown.

In particular, the brother of a civilian hostage, a member of the NGO "Civilians in captivity" Ilya Gonchar said that he represents about 200 families whose relatives were abducted by Russians. Most of them do not even know if they are alive and where they might be.

"These are nurses, drivers, security guards, teachers, entrepreneurs and even pensioners. These are people aged 18 to 80 years and older. Many of them have chronic diseases and need constant medical care. There are wounded and those who were severely beaten and maimed by the Russian military. No matter what the families of civilian prisoners do, they cannot get doctors or representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and humanitarian agencies to visit their relatives. Many families do not even know whether their relatives are still alive," said Illya.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 28/12/2022