Russia’s claim of Mariupol’s capture fuels concern for prisoners of war

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian defence ministry on Saturday May 21 2022, Serhiy Volynskyy, nicknamed Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Special Marine Brigade of Ukraine’s Naval Forces lines up to be checked as he leaves the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP)

Concern is mounting over the fate of the Ukrainian fighters who became Moscow’s prisoners as Russia claimed seizure of the steel plant-turned-fortress in Mariupol – ending a nearly three-month siege that left the strategic port city in ruins and more than 20,000 city residents feared dead.

The Russian defence ministry released video of Ukrainian soldiers being taken into custody after announcing that its forces had removed the last hold-outs from the plant’s miles of underground tunnels.