Russia is moving more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops who surrendered in Mariupol after a long battle at the Azovstal Steel Plant, according to Russian state media outlet Tass. The move is meant to facilitate an investigation, Tass specified.
“Over 1,000 people from Azovstal were transported to Russia. Law enforcement agencies are working closely with them,” the outlet reported.
This move should not come as a surprise. The Investigative Committee of Russia announced it would interrogate what it called “surrendered militants” who were evacuated from the Azovstal plant shortly after the surrender in May of Mariupol’s last remaining stronghold.
However, in the self-styled Donetsk People’s Republic, the separatist-held area of eastern Ukraine, two British and one Moroccan citizen who joined the Ukrainian military are being charged with being mercenaries. In the courts of the DPR, a Russian proxy that is not internationally recognized, these charges could carry the death penalty.
DNR leader Denis Pushilin, a Moscow puppet, has said the men will be charged in the region’s supreme court. They could also be charged with violent seizure of power and undergoing training to carry out terrorist activities.
The two Britons, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, were shown on a court camera while being formally charged along with Saaudun Brahim, who is a Moroccan national. The families of Aslin and Pinner told the BBC that the two men were not mercenaries, and that they joined the Ukrainian military in 2018.
Prisoner Swap a Remote Option Now
Ukraine was seeking to conduct a prisoner swap with the Russians for the 2,000 troops captured in Mariupol. However, some Russian lawmakers are demanding that many of the POWs be tried as criminals.
Pushilin was quoted by Russian state media Interfax as saying that the DNR was working with Russia to create a tribunal to try some of the troops as “Nazi criminals.” This would be preceded by intermediate trials, which reportedly should be held in Mariupol soon.
“We should not delay,” Pushilin told Interfax. Pushilin said members of the Western media would be allowed access.
Mariupol’s defense was led by the Azov Regiment. The Russians have characterized this organization as a “Nazi militia” with far-right origins. The Kyiv government disagrees and has said that the unit has been reformed and integrated into its armed forces.
Preparations for Show Trials
The Russians are expected to conduct show trials for hundreds of the prisoners it holds from Mariupol. These were being planned even before the fall of the steel plant.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that an “investigative committee” asked the Ministry to provide information on “the illegal actions of Ukrainian armed formations related to the use of civilian objects for military purposes”.
Russian military forces have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure since the onset of the war in late February. But they charge (without any proof) that “the Azov Battalion used the buildings of kindergartens and schools to equip barracks” and that troops of the Aidar Battalion equipped “firing positions in places not intended for this, creating a real danger to the civilian population”.
Hospitals were targeted by Russian air and missile strikes. Russia’s Defense Ministry now claims that in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian forces set up military operations in hospitals and that “the staff and patients of medical facilities are being held as human shields”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross was on hand for the surrender of the Azovstal plant and registered every one of the POWs. It added that under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the Red Cross must have immediate access to all prisoners of war. Russia has stated that all prisoners of war are being treated in accordance with international standards.
Steve Balestrieri is a 1945 National Security Columnist. He has served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing for 19fortyfive.com and other military news organizations, he has covered the NFL for PatsFans.com for over 10 years. His work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
