Russia may ban the exchange of prisoners of war.
The Russian parliament is considering the possibility of stopping the exchange of soldiers of the Ukrainian Azov regiment, who surrendered to Russian forces in Ukraine.
In the morning, members of the Azov Regiment were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant and sent to territories under the control of Russian authorities.
The Russian side describes them as “Nazis”, although members of the regiment have stated that they do not support racist, fascist or neo-Nazi ideologies and that their political orientation is far from the radical nationalism they have pursued before.
Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Russian State Duma, said members of the Azov regiment were “Nazi criminals” who should not be involved in the prisoner exchange.
“They are war criminals and we must do everything we can to bring them to justice,” Volodin said.
Russian authorities say more than 250 soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant have surrendered and that 51 of them need urgent medical help due to serious injuries.
Ukraine said it would organize an exchange of troops with Russia to return members of the Azov Regiment to territories controlled by Ukrainian authorities.