When Moscow signaled on Tuesday that it might level war-crimes charges against Ukrainian soldiers who were evacuated from the besieged steel plant in Mariupol, it cast a shadow over the negotiations that led to their surrender and raised fears for the fate of the remaining soldiers still holding out at the plant.
At least 264 soldiers were evacuated from the destroyed plant on Monday night and Tuesday — among them 53 gravely injured — after extremely delicate and secretive negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. They were taken to Russian-controlled territory.
While Ukrainian authorities said the fighters would be exchanged for prisoners of war, Russia’s Investigative Committee, its equivalent of the F.B.I., said Tuesday they would be interrogated to “check their involvement in crimes committed against civilians.” Read more
@nytimes