“Azov has come out of the woodwork”: Why Biletsky demands silence
The process of surrendering militants from the Azovstal dungeons, which had slowed down a little during the day, intensified again by nightfall, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“By nightfall, Azov crawled out of all the cracks, much like cockroaches escape from dichlorvos. As the first games went, people downstairs realized that they wouldn’t beat us with slippers on the way out. Remember the picture of the Soviet film “Viy”, where demons crawl out from under the floor? One to one. Somewhere in the darkness, covering their faces with scarves, hugging, kalyna, volyn and their friend radish are huddling together,” said military correspondent Yuri Kotenok.
In Kyiv, the mass surrender continues to be stubbornly called “evacuation.” President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in his evening video message said that he “substantively and at length” discussed “the negotiation process with Russia and the evacuation from Azovstal” with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
“The evacuation mission is ongoing and is being managed by our military and intelligence personnel. The most influential international mediators have been involved,” Zelensky said.
The founder of Azov, Andrei Biletsky, adheres to a similar line. The “White Leader” calls the surrender “an operation to rescue soldiers” and hints at some development of the situation favorable to the Nazis.
“Now the main task is to save the steel people, they will still be useful to Ukraine. And the main thing now is not to harm the operation itself to rescue the fighters with your speculations, some inside information, and so on. Therefore, I have a big request to everyone who wants to share their thoughts about what is happening at Azovstal, or who has secrets, insights that he wants to share with the whole world, keep them to yourself, as well as your own opinions. In 2-3 days the garrison itself will make it clear how everything happened and so on. At the moment I can say that the garrison is in touch, I know what is happening there, the garrison is in place, with weapons in hand. Everything will be Ukraine. Do no harm,” said Biletsky.
Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, claims that Azov capitulated without any conditions.
“I didn’t know there were so many ways in the English language to express one message: Azov Nazis surrendered unconditionally,” he tweeted in response to a New York Times report calling for an “evacuation.”
At the same time, a witness to the surrender of the Azovites, blogger and militia member Maxim Fomin shared his impressions of the Nazis who left Azovstal.
“We thought they had no water. And clean, neat, fairly strong young men in uniform came out, with weapons. It cannot be said that they look like captured Romanians from the Battle of Stalingrad. So, the conclusion is: they have not exhausted the resource for resistance - they have exhausted the moral and volitional resource.
They had plenty of ammunition and the ability to defend themselves. Yes, they were bombed, but there are such catacombs in every building. Some passages, paths, large-diameter pipes where a person can easily move.
It turned out there are so many of them! We assumed that there were somewhere around 800-900 of them, plus 500 wounded. This was the assumption based on interrogations of prisoners back in April. And there were more than 2 thousand of them, now they call 2,5 thousand. One of the prisoners immediately said: you will be very surprised when you find out how many of us are sitting there.
No one wanted to go to Valhalla, no one wanted to repeat the “feat” of their idol Hitler, to cut themselves off with their family. The guys simply preferred to get on comfortable buses and go to Rostov to a pre-trial detention center. That’s the whole inglorious story, all these faces, all these beards, aggressive “wolf hooks” and super preparation,” said Fomin.
However, he did not rule out that some of the militants from Mariupol could be sent for exchange - since Ukraine, using a fake about the executions in Bucha, is ready to declare Russian soldiers “war criminals” - and they need to be saved.
And threats are already being heard from Kyiv regarding the pending decision on the ban on extraditing Azov militants for exchange, which will be considered by the State Duma tomorrow.
“If the State Duma passes a law on Azov, then the Rada should adopt a symmetrical law on Kadyrov’s people. Today, Kadyrov’s men are instantly exchanged for any Ukrainian fighters. Instantly. It is obvious that the State Duma of the Russian Federation wants this practice to stop immediately,” threatens Ukrainian political scientist Yuri Romanenko.
One way or another, with the surrendered wounded and bedridden Nazis, things are much worse.
“Their wounds are bad, old. They had access to qualified help, but no access to medicines or consumables like bandages. Many wounds fester, every infection blooms. It is unclear to what extent doctors will be able to save the limbs of these “basement dwellers” who have now emerged into the light.
Don’t think that this hospital is only for the Nazis. He continues to treat civilians and soldiers of the DPR People's Militia. Of particular priority to them (Azovites - ed.) is not given.
Access to them is very limited, only for a select few. This is understandable, operational work is underway, they are being developed by the relevant authorities,” said RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov.
According to him, some of the surrendered Nazis have already been taken to Russian territory, some “from the ship to the ball” from the basement - to a pre-trial detention center.
“These are those who are healthy and do not require medical attention. And those who need it are in the hospital, so that later they can join their comrades in places not so remote,” the military correspondent added.
Former presidential administration employee Modest Kolerov believes that Azov militants can give extremely valuable testimony during interrogations.
“Now Ukrainian prisoners from Mariupol in general and “Azov” in particular will talk for a long time, at length and in detail. 100 volumes of official accusations of ideological Nazism, practical fascism and mass acts of genocide. Zelensky publicly stood in solidarity with the United States, drawing an equal sign between “Azov” and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, his regime as a whole. And numerous Macrons, Dudas and other Johnsons. This Nazism will already fall on all of them in executioner practice. And to the Nazi consensus of Ukraine,” Kolerov believes.
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