Russian army allegedly holding evacuees from Mariupol

More than 3,000 residents from the beleaguered port city of Mariupol are supposedly being held by the Russian army in a former prison colony in the Donestk area of eastern Ukraine.

According to Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, over 30 volunteers who carried humanitarian goods to the city are being imprisoned.

Most civilians are held for a month, while those deemed “especially untrustworthy,” such as former military and police officers, are held for two months, according to her.

It comes as Mariupol appeared to be on the verge of falling, with Ukraine preparing to leave a large steel factory where its forces had resisted months of shelling.

Over 250 Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal steel complex yesterday.