Over 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war and foreign fighters captured by Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol have been deported to Russia to face legal proceedings, the Russian state news agency TASS reported late on Tuesday.
Some 100 foreign "mercenaries" captured following the end of the Azovstal steelworks siege last month were among the deportees, the TASS report said, adding that further Ukrainian POWs would soon be deported from Mariupol to Russia.
At least 2,400 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to the Russian military in late May following weeks of fighting at the giant Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. The Ukrainian leadership has voiced fears that its POWs could face torture or even murder at the hands of the Russians.
Russia claims there are large number of neo-Nazis among the soldiers, a claim that international experts describe as unsubstantiated.
