Russian-Ukrainian Body Exchange, Bodies Of Fighters From Azovstal Steel Mill In Mariupol Handed Over To Family

Surrender of the Ukrainian struggle from the Azovstal Steel Plant, Mariupol. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - The bodies of several Ukrainian fighters who died defending Mariupol City from Russian troops at the Azov steel plant, have been handed over to Kyiv, the families of Ukraine's Azov national guard unit said.

Ukrainian troops defending Mariupol hid in the Azovstal steel mill for weeks as Russian troops tried to take the city. Ukrainian troops finally surrendered last month and were detained by Russian troops.

There is little information about the fate of about 2,000 defenders of Azovstal. Kyiv is seeking their surrender in a prisoner swap, but some Russian lawmakers want some soldiers to be tried.

It was not immediately clear how many bodies arrived in Kyiv in this first transfer. They appear to have been handed over as part of the exchange of 160 bodies between Russia and Ukraine, announced last week by Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories.

"It is important to note that while a third of the bodies (handed over) were of Azov fighters, the other fighters' affiliations to different units are being clarified," the family said in a statement.

It is known that Russia designated the Azov Regiment, which led the defense of the steel factory in Mariupol, as a 'Nazi' militia with far-right radical origins.

Meanwhile, Ukraine denies the allegations, saying the unit has been reformed and integrated into its armed forces, outside of politics.