More than 1000 Ukrainian prisoners of war and foreign fighters captured by Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol have been deported to Russia to face legal proceedings, the Russian state news agency TASS says.
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Some 100 foreign "mercenaries" captured following the end of the Azovstal siege last month were among the deportees, the TASS report said, adding that further Ukrainian POWs would soon be deported from Mariupol to Russia.
At least 2400 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to the Russian military in late May following weeks of fighting at the giant steelworks in the strategic Black Sea port city of Mariupol.
The Ukrainian leadership has voiced fears its prisoners could face torture or even murder at the hands of the Russians.
Russia claims there are a large number of neo-Nazis among the soldiers, a claim international experts describe as unsubstantiated.
Australian Associated Press
