As part of the evacuation of the Ukrainian military, the bodies of the dead defenders will be removed from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, among other things, the commander of the Azov regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko, said in a video message on Friday.

He stated that as part of the execution of the order of the top leadership to preserve the life and health of the garrison, a special evacuation operation continues..

“Despite heavy fighting, all-round defense and lack of supplies, we constantly noted three main conditions for us, namely: civilians, wounded and dead. The civilians managed to be evacuated, the seriously wounded received the necessary medical care and they were able to be evacuated with subsequent exchange and delivery to the territory controlled by Ukraine. As for the fallen heroes, the process continues, and I hope that in the near future, relatives and all of Ukraine will be able to bury their soldiers with honors,” Prokopenko said..

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It should be noted that the procedure for the evacuation of Ukrainian defenders from the territory of the Azovstal plant began on May 17. Now the process is still ongoing and its details are not publicly commented on.. So, on the first day, at least seven buses with Ukrainian defenders under the control of Russian invaders left the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, on the morning of May 19, 1,730 Ukrainian military left Azovstal. Everyone who leaves the factory is registered by the Red Cross.

In Russia, information about the plans for the exchange of Ukrainian military caused a wave of indignation and calls for aggressive actions against Ukrainians. However, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar noted that Russian statements about Azovstal defenders should be taken as political and aimed at domestic Russian consumers..