Troops who defended Mariupol steel mill registered as POWs
ABC News
Amid fear of Russian reprisals, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters who surrendered after enduring the merciless assault on Mariupol’s steel factory have been registered as prisoners of war
KYIV, Ukraine -- Amid fear of Russian reprisals, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters who surrendered after enduring the merciless assault on Mariupol’s steel factory were registered as prisoners of war, and the Ukrainian president vowed to seek international help to save them.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that it had gathered personal information from hundreds of the soldiers — name, date of birth, closest relative — and registered them as prisoners as part of its role in ensuring the humane treatment of POWs under the Geneva Conventions.
Amnesty International said in a tweet that the POW status means that the soldiers “must not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment.”
More than 1,700 defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have surrendered since Monday, Russian authorities said, in what appeared to be the final stage in the nearly three-month siege of the now-pulverized port city.