They are alive, some of them have a connection”: Zelensky told about the captured defenders of “Azovstal” .
Andriy Yermak ,
KYIV ,UkraineGate , 20 , June , 2022 | Society.
The head of the President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, said that the Ukrainian defenders of Azovstal captured by the Russian occupiers were alive. However, it is still unknown under what conditions they are being held, Ermak said in an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper LB .
According to him, the release of Ukrainian servicemen is the main task for the government and the Central Intelligence Agency.
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“It is a difficult question, we are engaged. Today this is the main task, including GUR. We know they are alive. As for the conditions, this issue is also being monitored. We cannot say exactly what their conditions are. But we know for sure that they are alive. The GUR is constantly monitoring this, there is a connection with some of them, and the process of their release does not stop for an hour. I really hope that now it will enter its active phase, and we will begin to return our heroes to Ukraine. I know for sure that the task at the first stage was to save the lives of our heroes. GUR has fulfilled this task, “Yermak said
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Yermak added that the GUR is currently working on the second stage – the return of Ukrainian defenders to the controlled territory of Ukraine. As for the fallen soldiers, the process of returning the bodies of our fallen heroes has already begun.
“Today it is more than 200. An examination is being conducted, and it is also very important that relatives and friends can get and bury the dead,” he concluded.
The Ukrainian side offered Russia to hold a special round of talks right near the walls of Azovstal in Mariupol. The Russian authorities ignored Ukraine’s request.
The defenders of Mariupol left Azovstal in May. Russia said about 2,000 fighters had left. Ukrainian authorities have not yet announced how many servicemen have left Azovstal. Those who left the plant were taken to the territory controlled by the occupiers.
Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have registered hundreds of Ukrainian servicemen who have left the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
Ukraine is negotiating the return from captivity of Mariupol defenders from Azovstal. Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malyar reminded that when the servicemen defended the plant, the Ministry of Internal Affairs also did not comment on questions such as whether or not they have a connection, because it is sensitive information.
Source: Ukrgate
