Ukraine war: How wives of imprisoned Azovstal fighters are honouring them

Published

8 months ago

May 16, 2024

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On the day of their marriage, Mariia Alieksieievych’s husband, Serhii, was holding out at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, the last bastion of resistance in the besieged southern port city of Ukraine as it came under one of the harshest sieges since the Second World War.

Mariia, 26, was almost 1,000km away in Khmelnytsky, where the couple had been living together before Russia‘s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The world looked on to see whether the Azovstal defenders would manage to hold back Russian forces as they ran out of food, water and ammunition.

Serhii, 29, fought on despite having a bullet stuck in a leg bone since mid-April, which couldn’t be removed due to the lack of supplies.

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian troops move into new positions

He made no mention of his agony when he spoke to Mariia. Instead, he asked her to marry him.

“On 27 April, 2022, when Serhii was at Azovstal, we got married.

“Serhii recorded a video for the registry office, in which he said he wanted to marry me, provided his and my personal data, I showed them the video, provided the necessary documents, and we got married,” Mariia told Sky News.

“I remember that day quite often, because at least on that day I was able to cheer Serhii up, give him hope for the best, that he would get out of Mariupol alive and that everything would be fine with us.”

The ‘terror’ attack

Mariia’s husband suffered a wound to his other leg in the Olenivka attack on 28-29 July 2022, which killed at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners and injured 100 more, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, the only source on the casualty figures.

Many of the prisoners at the targeted detention centre belonged to the nationalist Azov regiment as defenders of the steelworks were transferred there following their surrender on 16 May.

Speaking on the day marking two years since their husbands’ surrender, the wives of some Mariupol soldiers who are still prisoners of war (PoW) and whose whereabouts are unknown have spoken to Sky News about the limbo they’re in.

Kseniia Prokopenko’s brother, Ihor, is yet to be buried after being killed in the Olenivka attack – for which Russia and Ukraine have traded blame – at the age of 21.

His body was returned in October 2022, but he had been burned so badly that Ihor couldn’t be recognised.

While the family got a DNA match in May last year, they are still waiting for the results of an independent DNA test before saying their final goodbyes.

“Ihor was not married, he had no children,” said Kseniia. “We still cannot believe that this has happened and we will never see our Ihor again.”

‘Not enough done’

She said she didn’t even know her brother had been transferred to Olenivka when the lists of casualties were released. Ihor’s name was second on the list of those killed.

Kseniia has been campaigning with relatives of PoWs for Ukrainian authorities and the international community to ramp up efforts to protect soldiers in captivity and prevent another Olenivka.

“I realise now that enough wasn’t done two years ago when this terrorist attack happened, to raise this topic so the international community understands that Russia is a terrorist state and it kills and tortures prisoners of war, enough wasn’t done from our authorities,” she said.

As a member of the Olenivka community, she has travelled to Switzerland twice, to meet representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations (UN) and speak at the Swiss parliament.

Ana Lobov’s daughter was one-month-old when her husband, 32 and another Azovstal defender, left for the frontline.

She recalled how on 31 July, just a few days after the Olenivka attack, her husband’s name, Oleh, appeared on both lists of those killed and those injured. “I didn’t really know what to make of it,” Ana, 29, now based in Zhytomyr, said.

The last time Ana spoke to her husband was on 16 May, the day of the surrender, when he sent her a personal text but didn’t give any information or promise he would return.

‘You could see how tired he felt’

But on 17 August that year, she spotted Oleh in a Telegram video from a hospital in Donetsk.

“That’s how I found out he was alive,” she said. “That was the only time since the start of the full-scale war that I saw him.”

In the video, Oleh said he had shrapnel wounds all over his body and a wound to his hand, Ana said.

“You could see that he’s lost weight and if you looked into his eyes, you could see how tired he felt.”

Through a released prisoner who she spoke to in December that year, Ana was able to obtain some information about her husband, including that he had spent six months in hospital and had been put in isolation after catching a supposed cold.

Speaking of how her daughter would play with a family picture attached to a fridge magnet, Ana said she has now started avoiding talking about her father to her now-toddler girl, Mariia.

But she would probably still “recognise her daddy” if she found any pictures “in the wardrobe or somewhere where I keep them”.

Ana says that ensuring her daughter grows up with her dad “encourages me to continue fighting for the release of my husband and his friends and those people who turned out to being in captivity”.

She went on: “I believed that international organisations were going to visit the victims of the terrorist attack, get reliable lists, that the seriously wounded would be taken from hospitals to a third country, but this did not happen either in a month or almost a year later.”

After the UN fact-finding mission, which had been set up to investigate Olenivka, was disbanded in January 2023, citing the “absence of conditions required for the deployment of the Mission to the site”, Ana took matters into her own hands and created the Olenivka community group.

‘There is still threat to their life’

The group gathers every Sunday to call for an investigation into what happened in Olenivka as members fear it may happen again.

The PoW’s wives are now looking into how they may personally appeal to officials from countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to get their other halves released through negotiations.

The UAE has been mediating in prisoner exchange negotiations, including when more than 200 prisoners on each side were freed in early January, in what Ukraine described as the largest documented swap of troops until then.

According to an Azov brigade commander quoted by local media in February, more than 900 Azov fighters are still in captivity.

“Our biggest fear is that history can repeat itself, that this kind of event can happen once again,” Mariia said, while claiming that despite “constant” efforts to get information from state authorities or the ICRC about her husband, they were never able to help.

“It’s been two years and we still don’t know the Russians logic, why, what made them move these people to this separate barrack and why it happened, why they wanted to kill them,” she said.

“There is still threat to their life and health.”

Anastasiia Gondul, 47, hasn’t had any news of her husband Artem, 41, since she saw him on Russian TV in the August after the Olenivka attack, in which he was reportedly injured.

She knows he had already been severely injured while at the Azovstal plant, with part of a mine believed to still be stuck in his pelvis.

She has now made it her priority to raise awareness of PoWs who, two years on, are still in foreign hands under practically unknown circumstances.

Anastasiia, who at one point started taking antidepressants to tackle the anxiety of her husband being on the frontline, has travelled to Geneva to address the UN and Red Cross, as well as Poland to speak at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, organised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

She also travelled to Canada, where she visited her daughter and organised a peaceful protest in Montreal and Ottawa.

Anastasiia, Maria and Ana also met the papal ambassador to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, for support.

At the request of the Olenivka group, peaceful protests were held in Winterthur, Milan, London, Wales, Birmingham, Warsaw, Munich, Augsbur, Quebec, Sacramento, Paris, Prague, Madrid, La Coruña and Stockholm.

The women of the Olenivka group hold a peaceful protest every Sunday in cities across Ukraine to ensure the plight of PoWs remains in the public’s conscience.

The Ukrainian and Russian governments have been approached for comment.

ICRC access to PoWs

An ICRC spokesperson told Sky News it has visited more than 3,000 PoWs on both sides, assessing their condition and treatment.

The ICRC has 26,900 open cases of missing people, both civilians and military. More than 8,700 families have received news from the organisation on their loved ones’ fate or whereabouts.

During visits, “much-awaited news” from families are shared with detainees, while any concerns about their condition will be raised privately with authorities, a statement says.

But the ICRC still doesn’t have “the full access to all PoWs”, with many prisoners and civilian internees still waiting for a visit.

“We continue our efforts to access all of them. We also know that every day is full of uncertainty for their families who are looking for reassurance,” the spokesperson said.

‘Families have the right to know’

The ICRC pointed to how under the Geneva Conventions, it must be allowed to visit all PoWs as many times as needed, but added that it cannot enforce the rules.

“We understand the frustrations of those families who wait in anguish with no news at all. Families have the right to know about the fate of their loved ones, whether they are alive, wounded, or dead.

“Many have waited anxiously for too long – they need answers today. We will not rest until we are able to see all PoWs, not just once, but repeatedly wherever they are held.”

World

Three Israeli hostages returned and 90 Palestinian detainees released as part of ceasefire deal

Published

22 mins ago

January 20, 2025

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Three Israeli hostages returned and 90 Palestinian detainees released as part of ceasefire deal

Three Israeli hostages have been reunited with their families, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in return in a ceasefire deal that has put an end, for now, to 15 months of bitter war in Gaza.

Amid a chaotic crowd in Gaza, the Israeli hostages were handed by masked, armed gunmen to the Red Cross on Sunday, before being transferred to the Israeli military and then entering southern Israel.

All three were in a stable condition, Sheba Medical Center said, and authorities released footage of them fiercely hugging their families and sobbing.

“An entire nation embraces you,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian families welcomed the 90 prisoners freed by Israel early on Monday morning, with crowds gathering to celebrate with the first bus of detainees in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

All are from the occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem. The youngest is a 15-year-old boy from East Jerusalem. Two 17-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were also named.

Israel had detained them for what it said were offences related to Israel’s security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.

One of the three hostages released by Hamas was 28-year-old British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was shot in the hand and taken to Gaza during the 7 October attack that sparked the war in 2023.

The other two hostages freed on Sunday were 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, abducted from the same Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel as Ms Damari, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova music festival.

Emily Damari’s mother, Mandy Damari, thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal”.

Relief and grief in ravaged Gaza

In Gaza, Palestinians have been both celebrating the relief from the bombing and grieving the loss of loved ones and livelihoods.

Some started the trek back through the rubble to what is left of their bombed-out homes, hoping to pick up any pieces of their lives.

“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again,” said a woman from Gaza City, who had been sheltering in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, for over a year.

Ceasefire arrived after last minute delay

The long-sought ceasefire for Gaza was delayed before it eventually took effect at 11.15am local time on Sunday (9.15am UK time).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire, which had been due to start at 6.30am, would not begin until Israel received the names of the three hostages to be released.

After receiving the list, his office confirmed in a statement the ceasefire had started.

Hamas blamed the delay on “technical field reasons”, during which time Israel continued to launch military strikes on Gaza, killing a further 13 people, and injuring dozens, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.

The Israeli military said it struck “terror targets”.

Medics reported tanks firing at the Zeitoun area in Gaza City, and said an airstrike and tank fire also hit the northern town of Beit Hanoun, sending residents who had returned there in anticipation of the ceasefire fleeing.

Sky’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said he understood these technical issues may have been related to Hamas’s difficulties passing messages between its leadership in Gaza. It has long avoided using mobile phones to prevent detection by the Israeli military.

“Many in Israel will naturally blame Hamas for playing games,” Bunkall said.

“The mediating teams knew the ceasefire would be shaky, they knew that there would be bumps in the road and have encouraged both Israel and Hamas to remain calm as any difficulties are worked through.”

As the fragile ceasefire started, Israeli forces started withdrawing from parts of Gaza, allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin the journey back to their battered homes.

Two-thirds of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or obliterated, the United Nations Satellite Centre found back in September.

Weary residents returning to Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza found their homes reduced to rubble.

A deal hard-won

The deal was agreed by Israel’s cabinet on Friday night after a breakthrough in negotiations – mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt – was announced on Wednesday.

Its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 94 hostages – women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded – will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The Palestinians to be set free include 737 male, female and teenage prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.

The pause in fighting is also supposed to enable humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory. The UN World Food Program said trucks started entering through two crossings on Sunday.

470 days of war

The war began after Hamas militants rampaged into Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted another 250 on 7 October 2023.

Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but say women and children make up more than half the dead.

World

Australian broadcaster apologises to Novak Djokovic after ‘has-been’ comments

Published

22 mins ago

January 20, 2025

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Australian broadcaster apologises to Novak Djokovic after 'has-been' comments

An Australian broadcaster has apologised to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans after calling the 24-time Grand Slam champion “overrated” and a “has-been”.

Djokovic, 37, refused to give a customary post-match interview to Channel Nine anchor Jim Courier after beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open on Sunday.

He said in a press conference his annoyance was not directed at the crowd but another Channel Nine presenter, Tony Jones, who allegedly mocked a group of chanting fans on Friday by singing: “Novak is overrated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak kick him out.”

The tennis star said that he also spoke to Craig Tiley, the head of Tennis Australia, telling him he would accept a fine for him not giving the interview, if the body decided to issue one.

Not referring to Mr Jones by name, Djokovic later posted on X on Sunday to say the comments “made a mockery of Serbian fans” and were “insulting and offensive” towards him.

He said he hoped for a public apology and that he would continue to avoid speaking to Mr Jones and the Nine Network until “something is done”.

Appearing on the Today programme on Monday, Mr Jones offered that apology, saying he meant the comments as “banter”.

“I considered it to be humour, which is consistent with most things I do,” he said. “Having said that, I was made aware … that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments.

“I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them. And as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak.”

He also said he felt he had “let down the Serbian fans”.

He said the one comment he particularly regretted was “kick him out”, which he accepted could only be construed as a reference to Djokovic’s deportation from Australia in a row over his Covid vaccination status in early 2022, Sky Sports News reported.

Australia’s Nine Network also issued a statement Monday and apologised to Djokovic “for any offence caused from comments made during a recent live cross”.

It said: “No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans. We look forward to further showcasing his Australian Open campaign at Melbourne Park.”

Djokovic is scheduled to play no 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

World

Ceasefire deal: Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding after mass destruction

Published

22 mins ago

January 20, 2025

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Ceasefire deal: Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding after mass destruction

With the ceasefire now in effect, it hopes to bring an end to the most destructive chapter in the almost 77 year-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Gaza’s Hamas-led government estimates that 14 in every 15 homes have been damaged, with five destroyed.

The destruction has left the Gaza Strip littered with an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris, the equivalent of 180 Wembley stadiums.

The UN estimates that 69% of buildings have been damaged, with one in four (24%) totally destroyed.

Satellite images from northern Gaza capture the extent of the destruction.

Less than one kilometre west of the Indonesian Hospital, one of North Gaza’s main hospitals, entire residential neighbourhoods have been destroyed.

Alongside the destruction of physical infrastructure, tank trails, and sand fortifications indicate the current large-scale presence of the military in the north.

What does the future hold for Gaza?

The ceasefire came into force on Sunday morning after a delay. Under the terms of the deal, Israeli forces will be required to withdraw from their current positions to within 700 metres of the Gaza border.

The most immediate consequence is likely to be a rush of Palestinians returning to their homes. An estimated 1.9 million Gaza residents have been displaced since the war began – 90% of the population.

Many of them are sheltering in vast tent cities along Gaza’s shoreline, following Israel’s orders for them to flee to what it calls the Al Mawasi “humanitarian zone”.

The largest displacement took place on the sixth day of the war, when Israel gave all residents of the northern half of Gaza just six hours to flee southwards.

The ceasefire agreement stipulates that residents will be permitted to return to the north from the seventh day of the ceasefire, Sunday 26 January.

Yet it is unclear if the region can cope with an influx of returnees, especially the area to the north of Gaza City.

An estimated 70% of buildings in this region have been damaged or destroyed, and there is currently only one operational hospital.

The ceasefire agreement anticipates a mass exodus of people returning to the north, requiring that half of all aid be sent there.

The agreement stipulates that 600 aid trucks must be allowed to enter Gaza every day – a nine-fold increase on the month to 13 January, which saw an average of just 67 trucks enter per day.

Many agencies have a backlog of trucks filled with humanitarian aid ready to be transported into Gaza, but the extent of the damage makes prioritising a challenge.

Damage to water and sanitation facilities, for example, is extensive. Before the war, 80% of water production came from groundwater wells – aid agencies estimate that only 8% of those wells in North Gaza are now accessible.

The only seawater desalination plant in the North, which was a key source of drinking water, was destroyed in the fighting.

Even if water sources can be repaired, the infrastructure distributing it has been badly damaged. According to the WASH Cluster, a group of aid agencies, damage to pipelines in Gaza means that 70% of water sent through them is currently leaking out.

Healthcare infrastructure is also heavily damaged. According to the World Health Organisation, half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are out of service. The other half are only partially functioning, a result of shortages of medical supplies, fuel and personnel.

While homes and infrastructure can be rebuilt, the lives lost in this devastating conflict will continue to weigh heavily on both Israeli and Palestinian society.

1,195 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack which sparked the war in 2023, according to Israeli authorities, including 815 civilians.

The Palestinian militant group and its allies took a further 251 people, including women and children, back to the Gaza Strip as hostages.

Israel responded with a devastating air and ground offensive that Palestinian authorities say has killed at least 46,788 people, and injured a further 110,453.

That means one in every 14 Palestinians in Gaza has been killed or wounded since the war began.

Those figures are from Gaza’s health ministry, which is part of the territory’s Hamas-led government.

They don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but only around 41% of reported fatalities are military-age males – the rest being women, children and elderly people.

Health officials say 1,410 families have been “completely wiped out”, and a further 3,463 left with one surviving member. At least 35,055 children have lost a parent.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.