Ukrainian officers say they count on the Russians to start trials for Ukrainian prisoners of conflict later this month, with the primary tribunals happening in Mariupol.
Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of Mariupol, mentioned Friday at a media briefing that the “Russians plan to carry a trial of Ukrainian prisoners of conflict in Mariupol on the Independence Day of Ukraine, August 24.”
“The occupiers are turning the Mariupol Philharmonic Corridor, the pearl of town, the place solely festive occasions passed off, into a spot of trial for our prisoners of conflict and civilians,” he mentioned.
Boichenko mentioned, “There are completely different dates, however they’re getting ready. On this means, the invaders attempt to create ‘victories’ for his or her customers, since they haven’t any actual victories on the entrance.”
Officers of the self-declared Donetsk Individuals’s Republic, which is supported by Russia, have additionally indicated that trials will start quickly.
“The timing of the tribunal for the Ukrainian army and militants will probably be decided after the completion of the excellent work of the investigators,” Denis Pushilin, the top of the DPR, mentioned on Russian tv earlier this week.
“Complete preparations for the tribunal are underneath means … I will not say for positive concerning the timing, as a result of it nonetheless depends upon the investigators. As quickly because the investigators give the go-ahead,” Pushilin mentioned.
He additionally mentioned that an air protection group has been strengthened within the space of the isolation blocks the place Ukrainian prisoners of conflict are saved.
A correspondent with the Russian Protection Ministry’s channel Zvezda reported from exterior the Philharmonic Corridor in Mariupol this week, noting {that a} “big metallic body is being constructed subsequent to the Philharmonic. This can be a future hangar, the place jail wagons with Azov prisoners of conflict will presumably come by.”
