Azovstal militants. Archival photoMOSCOW, May 21.Vladimir Zelensky said that he was counting on the exchange of militants who had surrendered to Azovstal. «The guys received a signal from the military that they have every right to go out and save their lives… More it all depends on what the UN, the ICRC, the Russian Federation took upon themselves when they promised that they (Ukrainian troops) would be safe and expect this or that exchange format,» Zelensky said during an interview on the Ukraine TV channel 24″, in response to a question about those who had surrendered in Mariupol. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on May 20 that the territory of Azovstal had been completely liberated, «the underground facilities of the enterprise, in which the militants were hiding, came under the complete control of the Russian Armed Forces.» In total, according to the RF Ministry of Defense, since May 16, 2,439 Nazis of the Azov Regiment laid down their arms and surrendered as prisoners (criminal cases have been opened against its fighters in Russia) and the Ukrainian military, who were blocked on the territory of the plant for about a month.
Aksenov suggested sending Ukrainian prisoners to restore Donbass
