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Over 600 Azov Fighters Remain in Russian Captivity, 20 in Critical Condition
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More than 600 members of Ukraine's Azov Brigade remain in Russian captivity, with over 20 in critical condition and nearly half convicted on what the unit describes as fabricated charges, Azov representatives said during a press conference on August 6, as reported by RBC-Ukraine.
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Colonel Bohdan Hrishenkov, commander of the 12th Special Purpose Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov,” said that 270 of the captured fighters have already been sentenced by Russian courts.
“Out of the 600 prisoners of war currently in captivity, 270 have now been convicted of terrorism under fabricated charges,” Hrishenkov stated.
Azov representatives said the return of the brigade's personnel remains particularly difficult because of Russia's treatment of them.
“Azov fighters are not exchanged like ordinary prisoners of war,” said Serhii Yerymoshyn, deputy brigade commander for logistics and head of logistics for the 12th Special Purpose Brigade.
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Arsen Dmytryk, chief of staff of the 1st Azov Corps, also added that securing the release of the captured service members remains the unit's highest priority.
About Azov
The Azov Brigade has become one of the most recognizable units of Ukraine's Armed Forces since first gaining prominence during the 2014 liberation of Mariupol from Russian-backed forces.
In 2022, its fighters played a central role in the defense of Mariupol and the last stand at the Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian troops held out for nearly three months despite being surrounded by vastly superior Russian forces. In May, the garrison left the plant on the orders of Ukraine's military command after officials said the defenders’ lives would be preserved and that they would be returned through future prisoner exchanges.
More than three years later, hundreds of Azov fighters remain in Russian captivity.
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Russia has also convicted or is prosecuting at least 38 captured Azov Brigade fighters who survived the 2022 explosion at the Olenivka prison camp, according to the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR).
MIHR said the documented cases likely represent only a portion of the prosecutions, as Russian authorities have restricted public access to court records, making it impossible to determine the full scale of the campaign against captured Ukrainian service members.
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