Battle of Mariupol

Nazi checkpoint in Mariupol.

The Battle of Mariupol was a key engagement in the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war. Sam Garrens has called the Battle of Mariupol, "the last battle of the Second World War."^[1]

Mariupol on the Sea of Azov is predominantly a Russian city. After the Maidan coup in 2014, many Ukrainian nationalist from western Ukraine and the Kharkiv region were relocated to Mariupol by the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior's National Guard and terrorized the local, predominantly Russian, population. Mariupol became the hot bed of neo-Nazi activity from 2014 to 2022 and the site of some of the most intense fighting during the Russian special denazification operation.

The Russians attempted to establish humanitarian corridors for civilians with passages west toward Kyiv and Europe, or east toward Russia. However, the first reaction by the SBU was to murder the chief Ukrainian negotiator just prior to completion on the details of the agreement with the Russians. Eventually humanitarian corridors were set up, but Ukrainian forces killed many civilians attempting to evacuate. Of those refugees who did get out, most chose to go to Russia. Red Cross relief convoys were held up by Ukrainians outside the city. Zelensky ordered Ukrainian forces in the city not to surrender, and to fight to the last Ukrainian. The neo-Nazis had desecrated memorials to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.^[2]

The city's high rise apartment complexes, built of concrete and rebar in the Soviet era, were built with bomb shelters which residents lived in throughout the battle. Azov forces took control of upper-level apartments to use as firing points on Russian and DNR forces. On March 1, 2022, Greek City Times reported: "With Russian forces besieging Mariupol, in which 120,000+ ethnic Greeks live, SKAI news spoke with a Mr Kiouranas who lives in the city and exposed that Ukrainian “fascists” are killing people for trying to leave the city. When asked by SKAI news if he planned to leave the city, Kiouranas responded “how can I leave? When you try to leave you run the risk of running into a patrol of the Ukrainian fascists, the Azov Battalion. They would kill me and are responsible for everything.”^[3]

Here, Ukrainian's most elite Nazi fighting group met a humiliating defeat.

Encirclement[edit]

Female victim of Ukrainian Nazis found in the basement of Mariupol School #25, which the Azov Battalion used as a headquarters, with a swastika painted on her chest in her own blood.^[4][5][6]

Encirclement of the city was complete by March 4, 2022. On March 6 units of the People's Militia of the Donetsk Republic (DPR) entered the city. The main clashes were in the west of the city and in the east. The Azov fighters and some Ukrainian regular army units took up firing positions in civilian homes and high rise apartment blocks. Advancing Russian and Donetsk forces would take fire from the homes or apartments, identify its source, and aim tank fire or other means against the given window or floor or building.

Nothing was done by the Ukrainian government to feed or evacuate the predominantly Russian-speaking civilians. The municipality was run by Ukrainians, hand selected by the Kyiv regime, unresponsive to local needs. Shortly before combat erupted, the mayor disappeared only to reappear on Zoom in Western propaganda media to tell the world what barbarians the Russians are.

Late in the afternoon of March 6, on Pobedy Avenue, the Donetsk People's Militia clashed with Ukrainian armed nationalist units. More than 150 evacuating civilians were used as human shields by Ukrainian neo-Nazis who were hiding behind them.^[7] The Ukrainian nationalists opened fire on DPR servicemen from behind the backs of civilians. As a result of the firing by Ukrainian Nazis,^[8] several civilians were wounded and killed. The People's Militia of DPR guided the remaining group of civilians through the Vinogradnoye district from Mariupol to DPR controlled territory where they received food and medical services. Similar scenarios were repeated for weeks.

Russia informed the UN Security Council that the Mariupol maternity hospital had been used by the Azov Battalion on March 7 or March 6, 2022.^[9] On March 12, 2022, Russian T-72 tanks entered the city. On March 13, Russians began evacuation of civilian women, children, and elderly from Crimea to escape shelling from Ukrainian forces in Mariupol.^[10] By March 15 the Russians deployed Chechen fighters on the streets of Mariupol.^[11] The legendary Somali Battalion also took part in the fighting.

Kadyrov the Chechen, Head of the Chechen Republic, defeated radical Islamic terrorists in Chechnya and Banderite Nazis in Mariupol.

The denazification of Mariupol was delayed more than a week when a Tochka-U missile attack by the Kyiv regime hit the city center of Donetsk, killing 23 civilians, and DPR forces were withdrawn to deal with the site where the missile had been launched from.

Like the Battle of Stalingrad, Ukrainian forces trapped in Mariupol pleaded for relief to the Kyiv central command. And like Stalingrad, the government told them reinforcement of troops and supplies was not possible and forbad them to surrender.^[12]

On March 20, 2022, when Russian forces gave Ukrainian forces a deadline of 5:00 AM (Moscow time) (2 AM GMT) on Monday, March 21 to lay down their arms in the city. Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev of the Russian Defense Management Center guaranteed that all those who lay down their arms will be provided a safe passage out of the city. He also stated that all humanitarian corridors for civilians from Mariupol to the east and, in agreement with the Ukrainian side, to the west. Mizintsev also claimed that certain Ukrainian “bandits”, “neo-Nazis” and nationalists are engaging in carrying out “mass terror” and are going on a killing spree in the city.^[13] The Ukrainian resistors laid naval mines throughout the city.^[14]

Fascist Pravy Sektor flag discovered on the wall of the Security Service of Ukraine (gestapo) by liberating Russian forces in Mariupol.^[15]

On March 23, 2022, it was reported that what remained of the Azov Battalion was pinned down by Chechen fighters in the steel plant in the eastern portion of the city.^[16] Azov, which originally consisted of about 14,000 fighters, was whittled down to about 6,000. They were cut off from NATO resupply of weapons and ammunition, without water, food, fuel or electricity. Many were either killed in Mariupol, or escaped posing as civilians through humanitarian corridors. Some dressed as women to escape.^[17] Azov fighters, like their Nazi SS forebearers, are all tattooed and easily identifiable when captured. The International Red Cross agreed to deliver humanitarian relief and investigate Ukrainian war crimes, but according to reports was held up by Ukrainian attacks on Red Cross supply trains.

On April 8, the Russians took control of the port of Mariupol. All hostages, including foreigners, were released. During the Ukrainians retreat from the port they had burnt all the grainery storage facilities.^[18] The Ukrainians had mined the harbor. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that radio intercepts showed a significant number of foreign mercenaries carried out communications in six other European languages. It was estimated there were at least about 100 foreign fighters. The ministry spokesman stressed that the forces trapped in Mariupol are not the celebrated "defenders of so-called European values, but foreign mercenaries, who have come here to kill Slavs for American dollars while hiding behind a human shield of civilians."

On April 16, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of residential areas and summarized the situation in Mariupol:^[19]

Ukrainian use of civilian human shields[edit]

Illustration of Ukrainian tactics, illegally turning residential compounds into legitimate military targets, presented to the UN Security Council, May 6, 2022.^[20]

According to the testimony of civilian survivors, Azov Nazis shot civilians attempting to flee the city.^[21][22] One civilian survivor testified that Ukrainian forces shot up whole "busloads" of fleeing civilians. In a YouTube broadcast from AZOV Media, Ukrainian Nazis admitted they use civilians as human shields:.^[23]

In the so-called 'Bucha massacre,' all the dead bodies, or at least those bodies which were not crisis actors, had white armbands.

Mariupol residents accused Americans of training Azov fighters to fight near houses in residential areas causing interminable suffering and damage.^[25] Survivors also testified that AZOV went about the city in civilian dress without uniforms.^[26]

On the morning of March 30, 2022 Ukrainian troops told residents to go to Mariupol school #37 and there they would be safe; in the evening the school was shelled and destroyed.^[27]

By April 10, 2022, virtually all the civilian residential neighborhoods had been cleared and all the fighting was confined within the industrial zone.

On April 18, 2022, the Azov Battalion began broadcasting videos of family members of Azov fighters in the Azovstal bunker.^[28] Reports On April 19, one hundred forty civilian were liberated from Azovstal.^[29] These were not the civilians who were allegedly held hostage, but people who lived near the facility. On April 30, 2022, twenty-five civilians including 6 children escaped Azovstal through humanitarian corridors provided by the Russians.^[30]

Mariupol Drama theater[edit]

Mariupol Drama Theater with Azovstal in the far background.

About 500 civilians were herded into the Mariupol Drama Theater by Ukrainian forces and away from their homes and apartments where bomb shelters existed in the basement with the promise that the theater was being used as a pick-up point for evacuation to safety by bus. Once inside, the theater exploded from a bomb hidden in its lower levels, killing about 350 civilians. Ukrainian and Western propaganda tried to blame the explosion on the Russian armed forces, however eyewitness survivors attest to the mass murders being committed by the Zelensky regime.^[31]

The Drama Theater in Mariupol was being used as an ammunition storage dump by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Investigators established the deaths were caused by an explosion from within the building, and not from an outside aerial bombing or artillery attack. The night of the explosion, there was no Russian aerial bombing or artillery shelling.

US biological labs in Mariupol[edit]

Location of U.S. owned and operated biological labs in the territories formerly of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Evidence of emergency destruction of documents confirming work with the US military establishment in two biolaboratories in Mariupol was obtained. A preliminary analysis of extant documentation indicated the use of Mariupol as a regional center for cholera pathogen collection and certification. The selected strains were sent to the Public Health Centre in Kyiv, which was responsible for the onward shipment of biomaterials to the United States. These activities were carried out since 2014, as evidenced by the transfer of strains.

An act of destruction of the pathogen collection dated February 25, 2022, according to which cholera, tularemia and anthrax pathogens were handled there, was found in the sanitary and epidemiological laboratory.

Part of the collection of the veterinary laboratory was not destroyed in a hurry. The presence in the collection of pathogens that are uncharacteristic of veterinary medicine, such as typhoid, paratyphoid fever and gas gangrene, is a cause for concern. This could indicate the laboratory's misuse and involvement in a military biological program.^[32]

Azovstal[edit]

Ironically, the Azovstal steel plant was occupied by the Germans during World War II as a key point of operations, and became the last holdout for Azov Nazis during the Battle of Mariupol.

Azovstal drone shot, April 30, 2022, by Graham Phillips.

By March 18, 2022, about 6,000 members of the Azov Battalion continued resisting a force of about 12,000 Russians in an 11 square kilometer area in three steel plants, Azovstal, Ilyich [Steel and Iron Works] and Azovmash,^[33] in an industrial zone of eastern Mariupol.^[34] Beneath the Azovstal steel plant, a massive, well-fortified underground complex with 6 levels of bunkers extending 90 meters down, was built in Soviet times with 24 kilometers of tunnels. A tunnel running beneath the Kalmius River connects Azovstal to the Ilyich plant.^[35] On March 26, 2022, Russian sources reported preparations for the possible use of the TOS-1 (Solntsepek or sunbake) rocket launchers on Azovstal. The TOS-1 rocket launchers mounted on a T-72 tank chassis are the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the Russian arsenal, capable of firing a thermobaric warhead. Thermobarics, or "bunker busters" as it's known in the West, can produce shockwaves to destroy the tunnels and bunkers.^[36]

On April 1, 2022, WarGonzo reported on his YouTube channel that DPR and Russian forces moved against Azovstal from multiple directions at once, including amphibious landings, and had entered the massive complex.

On April 10, 2022, German reports surfaced that the underground Azovstal bunker complex contained a NATO command center known as a PIT-404 facility as well as a biolab operated by Metabiota. About 240 NATO personnel were present and as well as elements of the French Foreign Legion. The report identified officers from United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Turkiye, and Greece present.^[37] Other sources indicated that Azovstal was used a secret prison complex where torture and other horrific human rights abuses took place at the hands of the Nazi-dominated Ukrainian Security Services where people were "disappeared" to.^[38] Since the Maidan regime took power, over 1,000 people have been "disappeared" in the Donbas.

On the night of the April 10, the 36th Navy Brigade posted on Facebook [Google translation, edited]:

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on April 11 remnants of Ukrainian troops surrounded in the factory made an unsuccessful attempt to breakout at night.^[40] A group of about a hundred Ukrainian soldiers in armored vehicles tried to fight their way out of the plant and leave the city in a northern direction. Artillery and air strikes foiled this breakthrough attempt. Three Ukrainian tanks, five infantry fighting vehicles, seven vehicles and up to 50 personnel were destroyed. Another 42 Ukrainian servicemen voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered. The Saker reported Ukrainian forces took 30-50 civilian vehicles plus some remaining light armor and put ‘Z’ signs on them to try and trick Russian troops, then tried to storm out of Mariupol towards the north as the high command in Kyiv promised them support if they can just make it towards Zaporizhzhia oblast. Then, separate from that group, another large group of Marines surrendered. WarGonzo reported:

The Ilyich factory was confirmed captured on April 16, 2022.^[41] More POWs were taken in the Illych steel plant^[42] alone than all of Russian and LPR/DPR prisoners in Ukrainian hands combined. A lot of AFU equipment was recovered in the factory, including American Hummers.^[43] Under the Ottawa Convention, MON-50 and MON-90 anti-personnel mines are banned. Kyiv joined the Ottawa Convention in 1999 and claimed to have destroyed all such devices. Stocks of the illegal devices, and trip wires set up within the Ilyich factory, were discovered.

The Russian Defense Ministry called a ceasefire for 6:00 AM, Easter Sunday morning on April 17, appealing to the remaining holdouts in the Azovstal to lay down their arms and surrender, promising them life and safety. The offer went to AFU, nationalists, NATO and foreign mercenaries. Zelensky vowed the Nazis would fight to the end.

On April 18, 2022, WarGonzo reported that RF forces had captured northern portions of the Azovstal factory.^[44][45][46] U.S. Army documents were found in captured portions of the previously nazi-occupied complex.^[47]

In late April 2022, the acting commander of what remained of Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade posted a video, addressing the Kyiv leadership in perfect unaccented Russian, asking for help to evacuate.^[48]

By May 5, 2022, after the evacuation of more than 120 civilians, fighting resumed. Azov militants opened fire hoping to find a weak point in the encirclement. Russian forces returned artillery fire. The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that there still could be more than 200 civilians, including women, children and the elderly held in the basements. The Azov militants offered to exchange the civilians for food and medicines. Russians commanders said,

A wife of an Azov fighter, who once appeared armed in uniform on social media, got all dolled up to visit Pope Francis and plead for his assistance in freeing the Azovstal fighters.

Celebrated American neo-Nazi mercenary Kent "Boneface" McClellan is said to have survived and been evacuated from Azovstal by the Red Cross.^[49]

NATO officers in Azovstal[edit]

The Azovstal steel plant, with its underground bunkers built to withstand World War III.

On March 28, 2022, five helicopters took off from Nikolaev, flew 7 meters above the waves and landed in Mariupol.^[50] Their mission was to evacuate fighters from Azovstal. After they took off, two helicopters were shot down, but another three got away, with a possible third helicopter ditching in the waters off the coast. Two French officers of the main department of external security of the Ministry of Defense of the French Republic (DGSE) were reportedly on board.^[51] The head of French military intelligence was fired days latter.

On April 5, two more helicopters were shot down over the Sea of Azov which was attempting to reach Azovstal. An unconfirmed report posted on social media accredited to journalist German Vladimirov read, “NATO officers from France, Germany, Britain and “neutral” Sweden got stuck at Azovstal in Mariupol. Right now they are getting in touch with the Russian troops with a request to help them leave, to organize a corridor for the exit."^[52] The reports about NATO commanders taking shelter with Azov militants in Mariupol may explain why NATO member states especially France and Turkiye insist on carrying out a humanitarian mission in Mariupol, but only with the participation of their military.

On April 8, 2022 a third attempt to reach Azovstal was made by the Ukrainian dry cargo ship Apache, assigned to the Maltese port of Valetta, under the Maltese flag. The effort was repelled.

On April 9, 2022, Russian State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov confirmed to Russian media that NATO combatants from France, Germany, Britain, and 'neutral' Sweden were trapped in Azovstal. The total amount of foreign fighters was estimated at 100.^[53] According to one telling of events:

"From numerous published videos of interrogations of captured members of the Azov regiment and nationalist battalions, it follows that initially there were 20-25 thousand soldiers and officers in Mariupol. There are now about 2,000 left, plus about 200 NATO officers and foreign instructors. All of them are concentrated in the underground concrete premises of Azovstal. There is a whole city under open-hearth furnaces several floors deep and numerous underground passages, where even railway cars used to go. The results of the analysis of various information. Sketches from a page of a notebook reportedly belonging to Major Denis Prokopenko, commander of the Azov Battalion. Nazi symbols are seen on every page. Prokopenko was holed up in Azovstal with NATO officers. In March 2022 Prokopenko was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine by Volodymyr Zelensky.[54] French President Emmanuel Macron has developed an incredibly active peacekeeping activity, with elements of "shuttle diplomacy" between Kiev and Moscow, for which he was subjected to harsh criticism from people uninitiated in the problems. The fact is that the territory of Ukraine was divided into peculiar zones of responsibility of NATO countries. And in Mariupol there was a large intelligence center of the French Armed Forces, acting in the interests of the alliance and the Kiev regime. At some points, its staff reached hundreds of specialists, but by the time the battle for the city began, there were 53 officers of the French military intelligence DGSE. Why they didn't leave sooner is unknown. It is possible that they decided to continue collecting information to the last. However, when the last opportunity for evacuation came, they could not leave, because the Azov militants with whom the French interacted simply did not let them out. Seeing what was going on, the Nazis decided to use them as a guarantee that they themselves would be pulled out of the boiler. In addition to the French, there is a group of mercenaries in Mariupol - former and current officers from Canada, Sweden and the UK, as well as a detachment of Syrian Turkomans with extensive experience in urban combat in Syria. The total number of these volunteers is not precisely established, among them there may be career intelligence officers from the Canadian CSIS, the Swedish Must and the British MI-6, who like to use the status of a mercenary as a cover. In general, they, too, were in a trap. In addition, judging by how active Greek diplomats were in this direction, it can be assumed that the military from this country could not have done without. Moreover, Zelensky even showed two Greek mercenaries to the Greek parliament. In order to pull out his military, Macron began to call the Kremlin by phone, to which he received assurances that the Russian troops, if Paris met a number of conditions (the contents of which were not disclosed by the French), were ready to give a corridor. But in order to resolve the issue with Azov, which does not let foreigners out, one must talk with Zelensky. But Zelensky does not control the Nazis of Azov, he controls little at all, and is even interested in seeing the French “burned” in Mariupol (which would deprive Paris of room for maneuver and, possibly, contribute to an increase in the confrontation between the EU and Russia). In any case, he was unable or unwilling to help his French colleague. On March 18, Chancellor Scholz came to help Macron, and on March 20, with the consent of Moscow, a rescue team was sent to Mariupol from officers of the German military intelligence BND. But the “Azov”, believing that this was the only hope for them to escape from the surrounded city, prompting Kyiv to de-blockade it, they turned the Germans into hostages, despite guarantees from the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the representative office of the Azov regiment located in Kyiv. Photo from inside U.S.-supported Azov Nazi living quarters just outside Mariupol.[55] As a result, not only Macron, but also Scholz began to call Vladimir Putin on the phone. The Russian side (in exchange for a number of certain concessions from Berlin and Paris) agreed to release everyone - both intelligence officers and Azov militants and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but after disarmament and some verification measures in relation to everyone leaving the city. And this proposal was rejected by the Ukrainian side. After that, the furious Macron on March 30 fired the head of French military intelligence, Eric Vido. This was followed by attempts to evacuate the French and Germans with the help of helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were unsuccessful. Helicopters were shot down by anti-aircraft crews of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the DPR. It is likely that the evacuation agreements with the Kremlin included mandatory, albeit tacit, contact between the evacuees and their Russian counterparts, and an attempt to circumvent this condition caused Russian dissatisfaction, expressed in five downed helicopters. In one of those helicopters that fell into the sea, there were supposedly two Frenchmen. Obviously, "Azov" continued to hold them, and two were released so that they could persuade them to release their comrades. Common terrorist practice. According to radio interception, 21 Frenchmen died on the territory of Azovstal. . The penultimate attempt to pull out the foreigners was made by the Turks. Erdogan requested a sea evacuation from Mariupol. The Russians agreed, but with a reservation - from the port of Berdyansk. That is, the meeting of Western intelligence officers with Russian colleagues was still a prerequisite. But this attempt also failed. The last attempt was on April 9th. The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said during a briefing: “During the hours of darkness, the Ukrainian dry cargo ship Apache, assigned to the Maltese port of Valetta, under the Maltese flag, followed in a caravan of ships from the Taganrog Bay to the Kerch Strait. At 22:38 Moscow time, 30 km southeast of Mariupol, the dry cargo ship abruptly changed course and tried to break into the seaport of Mariupol blocked from the sea by the forces of the Black Sea Fleet ... During the movement to the port of Mariupol, the ship conducted a radio exchange, transmitting messages "I am a Maniac, I am coming to you." At the same time, signal fires were observed on the shore". The cargo ship did not respond to the radio requests of the Russian border ships and even ignored the warning fire on the course. As a result, artillery fire was opened on the Apache, a fire broke out at the stern of the ship, which was eliminated by the crew, the ship went into a drift, obeyed the requirements of the border guards and was towed to the Russian port of Yeysk. Now all living (if there are still any) foreign intelligence officers and military specialists held in Mariupol are concentrated at Azovstal to serve as human shields for the Nazis. Since the intelligence officers of the NATO countries and Sweden are of great operational interest to the Russian special services, and the very fact of their capture can have a huge propaganda effect, as well as become a serious trump card for pressure on the Western countries, efforts were made to take them alive. This circumstance greatly hampered the assault on Azovstal and did not allow powerful bombing and artillery strikes against the fortifications of the militants on the territory of Azovstal. But judging by the fact that now the intensity of the work of artillery and aviation has seriously increased, either information has appeared that the foreigners were liquidated by the “Azov” in order to avoid their detention by Russian special services, or, in order not to put the lives of our soldiers at unnecessary risk, they simply waved their hand at them. Paris urges the Russian leadership not to make public the fact that French intelligence officers are in Mariupol. Macron has an election, and the scandal that erupted could negatively affect his rating and the possibility of re-election.[56]

Some reports claimed, even after President Putin rescinded the order to storm the catacombs, that up to 50 French NATO office were stilling hiding out with the Nazis, and the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that up to 400 mercenary fighters recruited by Western governments were among the Nazis.

On May 4, 2022, it was reported that Canadian Lieutenant General Trevor Cadier was arrested while trying to escape through a sewer from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Cadieux is currently the highest-ranking foreign military officer among those detained in Ukraine, with the media giving him the nickname “mercenary general.” In addition, there is information that the general was in charge of Biological Laboratory No. 1, where they allegedly worked with deadly viruses. Cadieux is being held at the Lubyanka in Moscow where he will stand trial. The surrender of Ukrainian military blocked at Azovstal began on May 16, 2022. According to unconfirmed reports, U.S. General Eric Olson, British Lieutenant Colonel John Bailey, and four other instructors from NATO countries walked out of the facility and surrendered according to Southfront.^[57]

After liberation, a non-refrigerator morgue with a crematorium was found in the Azovstal bunker. Charred bits of American passports were also found.

Final surrender[edit]

Upside-down cross tattoo on the neck of a U.S. taxpayer-supported Azov Nazi after surrendering at the Battle of Mariupol, May 2022.

On April 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Gen. Sergey Shoigu to halt the storming of Azovstal, apparently shifting to a strategy of starving out the encircled remaining holdouts. It was thought that about 1,400 Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries, along with dozens of NATO officers, civilian families of the fighters and possibly some civilian hostages were still holed up in the bunkers. The Azov regiment apparently had stockpiled enough food and drinking for a lengthy holdout. The Russians did not cut internet access.^[58] More than 142,000 civilians had been evacuated from the city. Gen Shoigu declared victory in the battle. An estimated 9,000-10,000 Ukrainian forces and mercenaries had been killed in the battle.

As of May 9, 2022, roughly 1,000 people, civilian and military, were reported to have been evacuated from Azovstal under the plan negotiated by UN General Secretary António Guterres and evacuations ended, leaving about 500 deadenders in the bunkers below. Humanitarian corridors were closed. RT reported over 300 more Azovstal holdouts surrendered on May 15.^[59]

On May 16, 2022, all fighting within the confines of the massive Azovstal steel plant came to an end when the remaining Azov fighters asked to surrender. They had run out of food a week earlier. With help from Russian soldiers, the Azov fighters first had to de-mine booby traps that had been set up leading from the exit. Mass unconditional surrenders began, taking 3 full days to process. 55 seriously wounded (ambulatory) were taken immediately east to the Novoazovsk hospital in the Donetsk Republic Another 221 people the first day were sent north to the Elenovka POW camp in the Donetsk Republic. Searches, screenings, and preliminary interrogations to look for Nazis were conducted. A tattoo can make the difference between the status of regular POW and accused war criminal, especially if it's a swastika or other Nazi insignia.^[60] Russian war correspondent Dmitry Steshin who was at the surrender for its entirety, recorded this:

Ukrainian Nazis surrender at Azovstal: (left) SS Galicia Division insignia, (right) SS Totenkopfverbände insignia.

In Elenovka, interrogation of Ukrainian prisoners of war, some of whom have open criminal cases (e.g., for abuse/torture or killing of civilians, or of rebel captives) for years in Russia. Among the Ukrainian military who surrendered, 144 people are fighters of the Interior Ministry's National Guard, of which the Azov Battalion is part. The Kremlin reportedly refused to exchange Nazi members of the Azov regiment as they committed numerous war crimes. Membership in a terrorist organization is itself a criminal charge. There is a possibility that after a trial verdict, some Azov militants may be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. At the same time, those convicted of murder and torture will not be subject to exchange. In turn, the ordinary servicemen of the National Guard, the Border Guard Service and regular units of the AFU, who are accused of war crimes, are considered regular POWs. The exchange of other servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could be negotiated. The Russian state Duma, however immediately began debate on a bill forbidding the exchange of any POWs captured at Azovstal for fear of a demoralizing effect on the public and soldiers.

Steshin noted the prevailing attitude among the captive Ukrainian soldiers: "One conclusion they are all reaching is this: The Kiev regime has no use for them any more." The psychotic, delusional Presidential adviser to Zelensky, Mykhailo Podoliak, posted on Twitter:

Steshin reported on a conversation between Vlad and some Azovites:

On May 18, 2022, the total number of surrenders rose to 959. It was previously thought to be about 1,700 holdouts until the end. DPR leader Denis Pushilin told journalists, “A court will rule on the fate of Ukrainian militants who surrendered at Mariupol’s Azovstal plant…As for war criminals and those who are nationalists, if they laid down their arms their fate should be decided by the court. Regardless of the emotions of some people, I heard various opinions, if an adversary laid down the arms, the future fate is decided by the court. If this is a Nazi criminal, then by a court martial"^[63]

The total number of unconditional surrenders since Monday, May 16, 2022, cascaded to 2,439 by May 20,^[64] more captures than were taken in the two major battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve combined in 2014 and 2015 during the earlier Donbas war. This figure included at least 717 Azov fighters. People who swore to fight Russians until the last drop of blood surrendered. Kyiv tried to whitewash that embarrassment.^[65] Azov Regiment commander Lt. Colonel Denys Prokopenko (call sign "Radish") surrendered and was transported to Russia to face a denazification Tribunal in an armored vehicle for fear of reprisals against the accused by the civilian population of Mariupol.^[66][67]

In sum, 2,511 Azoz personnel were captured throughout the duration of the fighting in Mariupol. Individually, all were carrying large amounts of money - dollars, euros, Ukrainian hryvnia, and gold. All faced criminal prosecution and not military justice.^[68] Reports in early June 2022 indicated that Azov Nazis had been transferred to the Yelenovskaya penal colony in the DPR.^[69]

Commenting on the defeat, Jacob Dreizen said:

While some of the AFU regulars may be released once the conflict is declared over, which may take years given the United States declared intention to fund sabotage activity and a partisan insurgency after the AFU surrenders and the country is fully "demilitarized," Azov Nazis are looking at "busting rocks north of the Arctic Circle until the year 2040 or 2050," in the words of Jacob Dreizen.

Elenovka strike[edit]

Elenovka POW camp.

On July 29, 2022 Reuters reported the prisoner-of-war camp at Elenovka was hit by a U.S.-built HIMAR, causing the deaths of 40 prisoners and 13 guards and prison employees.^[71] At least one hundred other prisoners were injured. Sources reported that captured Ukrainian prisoners-of-war were giving up much critical information on U.S./Ukraine/NATO operations and illegal weapon's transfers, including arms to Kurdish terrorists in Syria to be used against NATO member Turkiye.^[72] Ukraine forces on the battlefield attempting to surrender have been documented to have been executed by Ukrainian commanders. A bill was introduced into the Ukrainian parliament granting legal authority to Ukrainian commanders to execute Ukrainian soldiers who wanted to surrender. Morale was reported to have fallen in recent weeks among Azov Battalion detainees as they realized the Kyiv regime was not negotiating for their exchange for Russian POWs.

Reconstruction[edit]

Humanitarian corridor for safe passage of foreign ships established by the Russian Navy.

By May 25, 2022 the Mariupol sea port had been reopened.^[73] 134 buildings were examined for weapons and over 12,000 explosive objects, many supplied by NATO, were found. Ukraine mined its own harbors, blocking the export of their own grain.^[74] Sappers (bomb disposal experts) inspected more than 50 km of the Azov Sea coast and 300 different munitions were defused. The Russian Defense Ministry opened the first humanitarian corridor for foreign ships from Mariupol. In a telephone conversation with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, a neutral intermediary, Tass reported that President Putin said Ukraine should de-mine its ports to ensure free passage of the blocked ships as soon as possible.^[75]

A DPR soldier who was tortured in captivity was exchanged and met his Nazi torturer who was captured in Azovstal. The Nazi begged for forgiveness in tears.^[76]

Propaganda war[edit]

Ukrainian artillery in Mariupol next to a baby hospital.^[77] Ukrainian forces have used civilians as human shields, not allowing them to escape urban centers through humanitarian corridors set up by Russian forces.

See also: Ukrainian propaganda war

Maternity hospital bombing[edit]

In April 2022 the ‘maternity ward girl’ come forward. Named Marianne, it turns out she's from the Donbass and has completely refuted Ukrainian propaganda. She stated in her interview that not only was the maternity not “bombed” by any planes like the fake news contends, but she recounts how the Ukrainian military stormed the maternity ward, stole all the patients’ food even after she told them they were for the pregnant women, didn't tell anyone of any attacks and after the “attack”, conveniently the Ukrainian soldiers appeared only minutes later already towing western photojournalists, basically used her as a “prop” despite her crying and repeatedly telling them to stop taking photos. It apparently was a rehearsed psyop event where the photographers were already waiting in the wings for the aftermath, and the pregnant showpiece was perfectly utilized as an object of orchestrated propaganda.

Marianne said that there was no air raid, which was independently confirmed. They said it was a shell of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The woman said that after the start of the Russian special operation, she was unable to leave Mariupol – the Ukrainian authorities did not let people out. The maternity hospital was occupied by the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: “The military did not help in any way, they came one day and said: “Give me food.” They are told: “This is all for pregnant women.” And they took our food.” Marianne confirmed that reporters showed up at the scene immediately after the explosion. When everyone was evacuated, she noticed that she was being filmed and asked to stop. The journalist left only after the men chased him away.”^[78]

Chemical weapons[edit]

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on April 29, 1997. The organisation promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction. Verification consists both of evaluation of declarations by member states and onsite inspections. The OPCW, with its 193 member states, is based in The Hague, Netherlands and oversees the global endeavour for the permanent and verifiable elimination of chemical weapons. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.

On September 27, 2017, OPCW announced that Russia had destroyed its entire chemical weapons stockpile.^[79][80][81]

According to Jacques Baud, a former high-ranking NATO and UN official, on January 18, 2022, Donbas defense units captured Polish speaking saboteurs equipped with Western equipment and who were seeking to create chemical incidents in Horlivka.^[82]

Every indication by the Americans early on was for preparation of another false flag chemical weapons attack. By early April, it appeared it would possibly occur in Kharkiv, Kyiv, or Poland. On April 6, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of preparing a false flag chemical weapons attack with chlorine in Pervomaiskyi, in the Kharkiv region.^[83] In a story published by NBC News on April 6, 20222 about the U.S. intelligence community's use of fake news in its propaganda war against Russia entitled, In a break with the past, U.S. is using intel to fight an info war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid,^[84] the article included this statement:

Nonetheless, the fake news about Russia plotting a chemical weapons attack can be traced back to the mouth of White House chief propagandist Jen Psaki.^[85]

On April 11, 2022, Western-backed Nazi remnants hopelessly trapped in the Azovstal steel plant broadcast details of an alleged chemical weapons attack.^[86] This 'red line' that Russophobic hardliners in the West vowed would bring about NATO intervention was largely ignored by Western media and governments.

See also[edit]

• Donbas cauldron

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 2014 Mariupol. Crimes of the Ukrainian regime . The war in Ukraine has been going on for 8 years. YouTube.
• EXCLUSIVE! AZOV Battalion Mariupol Headquarters Walkthrough!, John Mark Dougan, May 19, 2022. YouTube.
• INTERVIEW WITH AFU COMMANDER VOLYNA TAKEN FROM AZOVSTAL
• Mariupol: A Homecoming, DIG DEEP DOCUMENTARY, June 13, 2022. YouTube
• "Azov's Last Stand" | July 2022 | Mariupol, Donbass | Documentary with English subtitles
• Raw critical footage of the liberation of Mariupol 4K Actions A-Z [Full Documentary
• At the Edge of the Abyss (FRAGMENTS OF THE FILM). - Here and now, you will see the war as it really is, and understand why the people of Mariupol were waiting for the Russians to come.
• Azovstal Documentary, OAN Archive
• Donbass: I'm Alive! | Mariupol survivors of Ukrainian attacks find shelter
• Captured SBU documents from Mariupol
• Mariupol: Map of Azov War Crimes.