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On May 16, 2022, all fighting within the confines of the massive Azovstal steel plant came to an end when the remaining Azov fighters asked to surrender.  They had run out of food a week earlier.  With help from Russian soldiers, the Azov fighters first had to de-mine booby traps that had been set up leading from the exit.  Mass unconditional surrenders began, taking 3 full days to process.  55 seriously wounded (ambulatory) were taken immediately east to the Novoazovsk hospital in the Donetsk Republic Another 221 people the first day were sent north to the Elenovka POW camp in the  Donetsk Republic.  Searches, screenings, and preliminary interrogations to look for Nazis were conducted.  A tattoo can make the difference between the status of regular POW and accused war criminal, especially if it's a swastika or other Nazi insignia.<ref>https://www.bitchute.com/video/d5kDqZs9Hmep/</ref>  Russian war correspondent Dmitry Steshin who was at the surrender for its entirety, recorded this:

On May 16, 2022, all fighting within the confines of the massive Azovstal steel plant came to an end when the remaining Azov fighters asked to surrender.  They had run out of food a week earlier.  With help from Russian soldiers, the Azov fighters first had to de-mine booby traps that had been set up leading from the exit.  Mass unconditional surrenders began, taking 3 full days to process.  55 seriously wounded (ambulatory) were taken immediately east to the Novoazovsk hospital in the Donetsk Republic Another 221 people the first day were sent north to the Elenovka POW camp in the  Donetsk Republic.  Searches, screenings, and preliminary interrogations to look for Nazis were conducted.  A tattoo can make the difference between the status of regular POW and accused war criminal, especially if it's a swastika or other Nazi insignia.<ref>https://www.bitchute.com/video/d5kDqZs9Hmep/</ref>  Russian war correspondent Dmitry Steshin who was at the surrender for its entirety, recorded this:

{{quotebox-float|"Steshin is accompanied by a [[DPR]] soldier named Vlad, who hails from Poltava. They have been inseparable for the past 3 months on the road. Vlad was filled with [[hatred]] against these Ukrainian Nazis, and wanted revenge. But now something is happening to him: At the sight of the captives, his hatred and anger start to melt away, and he becomes calmer. Steshin philosophizes about the “Russian soul”, and how this effect works: At the sight of a conquered enemy, the Russian rage wilts, then [[compassion]] becomes more dominant within the psyche. To be sure, these Nazis will be put on trial for their crimes. But it is not the Russian way to carry out battlefield justice."<ref>https://awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/ukraine-war-day-85-up-close-look-at-azovstal-surrender-i-mean-evacuation/</ref>}}

{{quotebox-float|"Steshin is accompanied by a [[DPR]] soldier named Vlad, who hails from Poltava. They have been inseparable for the past 3 months on the road. Vlad was filled with [[hatred]] against these Ukrainian Nazis, and wanted revenge. But now something is happening to him: At the sight of the captives, his hatred and anger start to melt away, and he becomes calmer. Steshin philosophizes about the “Russian soul”, and how this effect works: At the sight of a conquered enemy, the Russian rage wilts, then [[compassion]] becomes more dominant within the psyche. To be sure, these Nazis will be put on trial for their crimes. But it is not the Russian way to carry out battlefield justice."<ref>https://awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2022/05/19/ukraine-war-day-85-up-close-look-at-azovstal-surrender-i-mean-evacuation/</ref>}}

[[File:Ukrainian Nazis surrender.PNG|left|400px|thumb|Ukrainian Nazis surrender at Azovstal: (left) SS Galicia Division insignia, (right) SS Totenkopfverbände insignia.]]

[[File:Ukrainian Nazis surrender.PNG|left|400px|thumb|Ukrainian Nazis surrender at Azovstal: (left) [[SS Galicia Division]] insignia, (right) SS Totenkopfverbände insignia.]]

In Elenovka, interrogation of Ukrainian prisoners of war, some of whom have open [[criminal]] cases (e.g., for abuse/torture or killing of civilians, or of rebel captives) for years in Russia.  Among the Ukrainian military who surrendered, 144 people are fighters of the Interior Ministry's National Guard, of which the Azov Battalion is part. The [[Kremlin]] reportedly refused to exchange Nazi members of the Azov regiment as they committed numerous war crimes.  Membership in a terrorist organization is itself a criminal charge.  There is a possibility that after a trial verdict, some Azov militants may be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. At the same time, those convicted of murder and torture will not be subject to exchange.  In turn, the ordinary servicemen of the National Guard, the Border Guard Service and regular units of the AFU, who are accused of war crimes, are considered regular POWs.  The exchange of other servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could be negotiated.  The Russian state Duma, however immediately began debate on a bill forbidding the exchange of any POWs captured at Azovstal for fear of a demoralizing effect on the public and soldiers.

In Elenovka, interrogation of Ukrainian prisoners of war, some of whom have open [[criminal]] cases (e.g., for abuse/torture or killing of civilians, or of rebel captives) for years in Russia.  Among the Ukrainian military who surrendered, 144 people are fighters of the Interior Ministry's National Guard, of which the Azov Battalion is part. The [[Kremlin]] reportedly refused to exchange Nazi members of the Azov regiment as they committed numerous war crimes.  Membership in a terrorist organization is itself a criminal charge.  There is a possibility that after a trial verdict, some Azov militants may be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. At the same time, those convicted of murder and torture will not be subject to exchange.  In turn, the ordinary servicemen of the National Guard, the Border Guard Service and regular units of the AFU, who are accused of war crimes, are considered regular POWs.  The exchange of other servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could be negotiated.  The Russian state Duma, however immediately began debate on a bill forbidding the exchange of any POWs captured at Azovstal for fear of a demoralizing effect on the public and soldiers.