Bodies of soldiers returned home in swap

THE bodies of Ukrainian fighters killed defending the port city of Mariupol have arrived in Kyiv after a swap with Russia, families of the soldiers said.

Anna Holovko, a spokesman for the Azov Battalion, said 160 Ukrainian bodies were turned over by the Russians.

The remains of the Ukrainian fighters were recovered from the ruins of the Azovstal steelworks, the scene of the final battle to keep control of Mariupol. At least 52 of the bodies returned to Kyiv are thought to be the remains of Azov soldiers, Ms Holovko added.

Ukrainian forces were holed up in the Soviet-era industrial complex for weeks. Mariupol eventually fell in May after a months-long siege and heavy shelling left most of the city destroyed. The remaining Ukrainian soldiers were taken into custody by Russian forces.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has previously stated there were as many as 2,500 resistance fighters – including border guards, police and territorial defence – being held by Russia after the fall of Azovstal.

More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol have been transferred to Russia, according to Russian state media. The Kremlin casts the Azov Battalion as a “Nazi” militia with “radical” far-right origins. Kyiv has repeatedly denied the claim.