500 days in captivity: Rally held on Maidan in support of defenders of Mariupol
On 27 August, a peaceful rally in support of the Mariupol garrison took place on Maidan Nezalezhnosti ("Independence Square") in the city of Kyiv.
Source: Suspilne
Details: The rally was held to remind others about the defenders of Mariupol, who have been in Russian captivity for 500 days.
The rally was initiated by the families of Mariupol border guards, who are prisoners of war.
About 200 people took part in the event.
One of the participants noted that her son is in Russian captivity. She said that such rallies are not taking place for the first time, and are held to attract the attention of the world community to Ukraine.
Background:
- The defenders of Mariupol held their defence for several months, until mid-May 2022, hiding from Russian attacks in the basements of Azovstal.
- The defenders of Mariupol entered Russian-controlled territory on 16-20 May. According to the Russian side, 2,439 fighters left Azovstal. Representatives of the Red Cross registered Ukrainian defenders as prisoners of war.
- Since then, a number of Azovstal defenders managed to return to Ukraine via PoW exchanges.
- On 29 July 2022, more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners died due to a Russian terrorist attack on the colony in Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast.
- On 8 July 2023, military commanders who defended Azovstal and then were taken to Türkiye in a PoW exchange after being released from Russian captivity had returned to Ukraine from Türkiye.
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