Azov Battalion Commanders Surrendered in Mariupol Taken to Detention Center in Moscow

According to the Russian defense ministry, as many as 2,439 Ukrainian troops and Azov battalion members surrendered arms on May 16 after being blocked at the Azovstal works for about a month

Moscow’s Lefortovo detention center Andrei Vasilyev/TASS

© Andrei Vasilyev/TASS

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Several commanders of Ukraine’s Azov nationalist battalion, who surrendered in Mariupol, have been taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention center, a source in law enforcement agencies told TASS on Sunday.

"Currently, several Azov commanders, who were taken prisoner during the battles for Mariupol, have been taken to Lefortovo," the source said but did not disclose their names.

According to earlier reports, Svyatoslav Palamar (call sign Kalina), a deputy commander of the Azov battalion, and Sergei Volynsky (call sign Volyna), the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, who surrendered in Mariupol, were transferred to Russia for investigative purposes.

More than 1,000 Ukrainian troops, who surrendered in Mariupol, have been transferred to Russia for investigative activities. A source in law enforcement agencies told TASS that more than 100 troops taken prisoner in Mariupol’s Azovstal works, including foreign mercenaries, might be kept in Moscow.

According to the Russian defense ministry, as many as 2,439 Ukrainian troops and Azov battalion members surrendered arms on May 16 after being blocked at the Azovstal works for about a month. On May 20, Russian forces liberated the plant’s entire territory.