UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has no information on fate of Azovstal defenders

"There is no specific information about the Azovstal defenders. We have the same information that is in the media. We try to monitor the situation, communicate with families and get other information, but we actually have no additional insider information about their fate," said Matilda Bogner, Head of HRMMU at the presentation of the new UN Human Rights report today, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

She noted that the Mission's monitors had unimpeded access to the places of the internment of prisoners of war in the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine.

"On the other hand, we have not been granted access to any place of internment of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the territory controlled by the Russian armed forces and related armed groups," the Head of HRMMU said.

Bogner also expressed deep concern over the death sentence given to three men by the so-called "supreme court" of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People’s Republic".

"The trial these people went through does not meet the standards of a fair trial under these circumstances and could constitute a war crime," she said.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the Ukrainian authorities were working towards returning the defenders of Mariupol home. This process is led by the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

For more than 80 days, Ukrainian service members defended Mariupol. On May 16, the evacuation of the city's defenders from the Azovstal steel works, blocked by Russian invaders, began.

After the withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from the steel works, according to the agreements, they are waiting for an exchange.