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No news of missing Azovstal defenders in Ukraine after Mariupol falls, families say

2022-05-30T16:01:55.699Z


The families of the Ukrainian defenders surrendered in Azovstal two weeks ago say they have little or no information about their whereabouts.


Catastrophe at the Mariupol steel plant through the eyes of a drone 0:37

(CNN) --

Two weeks ago, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters ended their defense of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, and now some families say they still have little or no information about their whereabouts.

"I have not contacted my husband or received any information about him recently," said Anna Ivleva, the wife of Anton, a Ukrainian marine who was seriously injured during the Russian siege of the factory in Mariupol.

  • The symbolic defense of Mariupol comes to an end: why is it a key battle in the war in Ukraine?

She hasn't spoken to him in over a month.

"The last time we spoke was on April 13. And then his colleagues would text me that he was still alive," Ivleva said.

Although Ukrainian government officials have been in contact, she has "no information" about where the Azovstal fighters are and in what condition, she told CNN.

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The emotional letter of a Ukrainian soldier from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol 3:09

However, she hopes that her husband is still alive, even if he is in captivity.

"All of us, the families, the wives and the mothers of the Marines, we are together, we are always in contact 24 hours a day," he said.

"We always exchange any available news, we are like a family."

After a long siege, the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol fell under full Russian control earlier this month with the surrender of Azovstal, the last bastion of Ukrainian defense of the city.

It is not clear how many Ukrainian servicemen are now in Russian custody, but the Russian military has claimed that more than 2,000 members of the Ukrainian forces have surrendered there.

Russian state propaganda has demonized Azovstal's defenders as "Nazis", raising fears for their treatment in captivity.

More than 260 people leave the Azovstal steel plant 0:51

Another woman named Yana - whose boyfriend is a Marine who was in Azovstal - spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.

"I haven't heard from him or anything," he said.

"The last time we were in contact was May 11."

The Ukrainian government has not provided any information on where her boyfriend might be, she said.

"My boyfriend's mother was contacted by [the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC], I can't remember when exactly," she said.

"They just told her that he was alive, that's all."

The ICRC has been involved in registering fighters leaving the Azovstal plant since 17 May, in part to help prisoners of war keep in touch with their families.

The organization has been working in Ukraine since 2014, when the war began in the Ukrainian region of Donbas.

This is what the wounded soldiers look like at the Azovstal plant 1:15

Another wife of an Azovstal defender, Tetiana, said her husband managed to call her from an unknown number after the surrender and said some of his companions were being held in a city in the separatist-controlled Donetsk region.

CNN agreed not to mention her last name for the same reasons.

"His voice was calm and confident," he said.

"He said the condition they were in was fine. He said it was possible that they might be allowed to receive some packages in the future."

Tetiana said that she spoke with her husband for about ten minutes, and that he told her that he would try to call again.

But since then, she hasn't heard from her either.

"That's it, no more calls and no news," he said.

war in ukraine

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-05-30

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