Russia and its rebel allies hold about 1,000 Azov fighters captive, many of whom surrendered at the steel plant in mid-May. Russian authorities opened criminal cases against them, accusing them of killing civilians. Adding terrorism charges could mean fewer rights and longer prison terms. Leaders of a terrorist organization could get 15 to 20 years and members of the group could get five to 10, according to Russian state media. In its ruling, the Supreme Court banned the Azov Constitution in Russia. This could also outlaw the constitution in areas of Ukraine held by Russian or Russian-backed forces if those territories go ahead with plans to become part of Russia. Russian troops walk inside the base of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment, decorated with the unit’s insignia, in the village of Yuriivka, on the coast of the Sea of Azov, not far from Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 18. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/The Associated Press) In testimony, reporters were able to see, witnesses who appeared before the Supreme Court supported the proposed terrorism designation, but most proceedings were held behind closed doors, so it was not known if opponents testified. “I can testify that Ukrainian snipers – Azov snipers – actually shot civilians trying to escape the city” of Mariupol, testified Marina Akhmedova of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights. “I saw bodies lying in streets with my own eyes. There were a lot of them, and they were probably 10 meters apart from each other. There were no shell craters next to them.”
The constitution rejects the decision
In a statement, the Azov Constitution rejected the decision, accusing the Kremlin of “seeking new justifications and explanations for war crimes.” He urged the US and other countries to declare Russia a terrorist state. Azov soldiers played a key role in the defense of Mariupol, holding out for weeks in the southern port city’s steel mill despite punishing attacks by Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed these and other defenders as heroes. Moscow has repeatedly portrayed the Azov Regiment as a Nazi group and accused it of atrocities, but has produced little public evidence. The regiment, a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, has a checkered past. It was developed by a group called the Azov Battalion, which was created in 2014 as one of several volunteer brigades assembled to fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The battalion drew its original fighters from far-right circles. The Azov Regiment, which has ultra-nationalist roots, has been one of the most prominent Ukrainian military formations fighting Russia in Eastern Ukraine. Here, members pray in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 11, about two weeks after the invasion began. (Sergei Bobok/AFP/Getty Images) While its current members have rejected charges of extremism, the Kremlin has exploited the constitution’s right-wing origins to frame the Russian invasion as a battle against Nazi influence in Ukraine. Russian state media has repeatedly shown what it claimed were Nazi insignia, literature and tattoos linked to the constitution. Last week, dozens of Ukrainian POWs, including Azov militants from the steel plant, were killed in an explosion at a prison barracks in Olenivka, an eastern town controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for the explosion, with Kyiv saying Russia blew up the barracks to cover up torture of prisoners.
Ship with Ukrainian grain anchors off Turkey
Meanwhile, the first grain cargo ship to leave Ukraine since Russia invaded for more than five months approached Istanbul on Tuesday en route to Lebanon, testing an agreement signed by Moscow and Kyiv last month to unblock Ukraine’s agricultural exports and alleviate the global food crisis. An estimated 18 million tons of grain have been stuck in Ukraine since the start of the war. The UN-brokered agreement to release the grain requires the creation of safe corridors through the mine-studded waters off Ukraine’s ports. The Razoni, which sailed from the Black Sea port of Odessa on Monday with more than 23,000 tonnes of corn, is anchored near the Bosphorus strait off Istanbul and is scheduled for inspection on Wednesday by a team of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and other officials UN. part of the deal. WATCHES | Ukraine and Russia sign landmark grain export deal:
Ukraine and Russia sign landmark grain export deal
Russian and Ukrainian officials signed a landmark agreement allowing grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The UN and Turkey brokered the deal. Other ships from Ukraine are expected to follow. In Odessa alone, at least 16 more ships, all blocked by Russia’s February 24 invasion, were waiting their turn, Ukrainian authorities said. Global food prices have soared in a crisis caused by war, global supply chain problems and COVID-19. While Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to the rest of the world, the deal may not greatly affect world hunger. Rear Admiral Ozcan Altunbulak, Turkey’s representative for a group monitoring the movement of cargo ships carrying grain from Ukraine, attends a press conference in Istanbul on Tuesday. (Umit Bektas/Reuters) Most of the grain stuck in Ukraine is intended for animal feed, according to David Laborde, an expert at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington. Only 5.4 million tons is wheat, and only half of that is for human consumption, Laborde said. He said Monday’s shipment is chicken feed. “A few ships leaving Ukraine is not going to change the game,” he said.
Ukraine to study legalization of same-sex marriages
In a separate development, Zelensky on Tuesday called on his government to consider whether same-sex marriage should be legalized, but said there would be no move while the war with Russia continues. Kyiv has increased support for LGBTQ rights since Western-backed leaders came to power in 2014. Parliament passed legislation in 2015 to ban discrimination in the workplace but does not allow same-sex marriage. Russia has criminalized the “propaganda” of non-traditional sexual orientations to children since 2013. The law has been used to stop gay pride marches and detain gay rights activists.
