Russia vows to kill 1000

Russian forces have vowed to kill more than 1000 Ukrainian troops thought to remain in the besieged Azovstal steel plant, while the fate of hundreds of troops who have surrendered hangs in the balance.

Pro-kremlin separatists in Donetsk claimed that more than half of the Azov Battalion was still defending the sprawling network of tunnels.

On Wednesday (local time), the Russian defence ministry said 959 Ukrainians had surrendered, 80 of them injured. It released footage apparently showing the wounded troops receiving treatment. In the videos, soldiers are being carried on stretchers to ambulances bound for a hospital in the nearby town of Novoazovstal.

An internal debate is raging in Russia about the fate of the captured soldiers, with calls from hard line figures for members of the Azov Battalion to be “killed without delay”.

Ukrainian troops began surrendering this week following a battle in Mariupol lasting almost three months, which prevented an estimated 20,000 Russians from being deployed elsewhere. Ukraine has refused to admit the surrender of its soldiers, instead saying that their combat mission was over.

Ukraine still hopes to reach a negotiated swap, but refused to comment on the progress of talks yesterday (Wednesday), saying that the situation remained in the balance.