More than 700 Azov servicemen are still in Russian captivity. After leaving Azovstal in 2022, about 1,400 brigade soldiers were captured, less than 600 of them were returned during exchanges. More than 200 Azov soldiers were convicted in Russia on trumped-up charges. This was reported by the Strategic Communications Department of the 1st Corps of the Azov Military University in response to a request.
“About 1,400 brigade soldiers were captured from Azovstal in 2022. Less than 600 were returned within the framework of the exchanges. Currently, more than 200 Azov soldiers have been convicted on fabricated cases of war crimes against the civilian population of Mariupol or simply for being servicemen of the unit,” — the response of the Strategic Communications Department of the 1st Corps of the Azov National Guard to a request from Public Donbas.
According to the Strategic Communications Department of the 1st Corps of the Azov National Guard, more than 700 Azov servicemen are in captivity.
“The released prisoners of war testify that they were forced to invent cases for themselves through torture. Russia systematically removes Azovites from exchange lists and does not want to return servicemen due to the symbolic significance of Azov for Russia, the high motivation of the unit and its demonization in Russia,” the first corps of the Azov Naval Base noted.
The corps also emphasized that during the recent exchanges, extremely few Azovites were returned, despite the significant scale of the exchanges themselves:
“There are extremely few Azovites in the recent exchanges, although the exchanges are significant. We hope to see a larger number of brigade servicemen in the next stages of the announced 1,000-for-1,000 exchange. The Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders has published a corresponding statement.”
