MARIUPOL (Ukraine) – Dozens upon dozens of Ukrainian soldiers surrendered after spending weeks in bunkers and tunnels beneath Mariupol’s Azovstal Steel Works. This was the end of the worst siege in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russian forces pounded Mariupol (a key port at the Sea of Azov, Russia and Crimea) with artillery over several weeks, while fierce urban warfare left large swathes of the city in ruins.

Many civilians and many Ukrainian soldiers, including those from the Azov Regiment sought shelter in the Azovstal Works, which was a huge Soviet-era plant built under Josef Stalin. It is equipped with numerous bunkers and tunnels that can withstand nuclear attacks and has been home to hundreds of refugees.

Russia’s defense ministry stated that 265 Ukrainian fighters surrendered. 51 of them were severely wounded. They will be treated in Novoazovsk, a Russian-backed region.

According to Reuters, at least seven bus carrying Ukrainian rebels fled Azovstal’s steelworks. Pro-Russian armed forces escorted them on Tuesday.

Witnesses said that some of the Ukrainian fighters transported didn’t appear to have been injured. The witness saw one Ukrainian fighter, sporting a large tattoo on his neck and looking directly ahead.

In the early hours Tuesday, the Ukrainian military command announced that it was finished with the defense of the steel plant.

The fate of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s heroic fighters, but who Russian legislators called “Nazi criminals”, was not clear. One suggested that they be sentenced to death.

Moscow has portrayed the Azov Regiment, a major perpetrator of the radical anti-Russian nationalism and even Nazism that it claims it is trying to defend against.

While the Kremlin stated that combatants would be handled in accordance to international norms Hanna Malyar (Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister) posted a video, in which she claimed: “An Exchange Procedure will Take Place for Their Return Home.”

SIEGE

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross reached an agreement with Russia and Ukraine that saved most of the civilians trapped in the plant.

Civilians spoke of dire conditions inside the bunkers. Some fighters suffered horrific injuries and received very limited medical care.

In 2014, the Azov Regiment formed as an extremist right-wing militia against Russian-backed separatists. They had taken over parts of Donbas. This is the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial center of eastern Ukraine. Russia claims it wishes to abolish Ukrainian rule.

It denies that the regiment was racist, fascist or neo Nazi. Ukraine claims it has been reformed from radical nationalist roots to become part of the National Guard. All the Ukrainian military commanders were deemed “heroes” by Ukraine.

Kyiv says that Russian speakers are not being persecuted here, but also claims the Russian propaganda is spreading false accusations about a fascist agenda.

Dmitry Peskov (Kremlin spokesperson) stated that Putin guaranteed that surrendering fighters would be treated according to international standards.

In his address, Zelenskiy mentioned that “the work to bring the boys home is continuing”, and it requires patience and delicacy.

Vyacheslav Voodin, the speaker of Russia’s state house State Duma said that Nazi criminals must not be exchanging.

Leonid Sloutsky, a lawmaker from Russia, was one of the negotiators for talks with Ukraine. He called the evacuated combatants “animals in human form” and suggested they receive the death penalty.

He said, “They don’t deserve to die after the horrific crimes against humanity they have committed”

Russia’s Prosecutor General asked for the Supreme Court’s recognition of the Azov Regiment’s terrorist organization, Interfax reported Tuesday. Citing the Ministry of Justice website.