The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, has confirmed that his forces, allied with the Russian Army in the invasion of Ukraine, have identified 78 women among the Ukrainian fighters imprisoned at the Azovstal steel plant, the last defensive bastion they had left in the city of Mariúpol, in the east of the country.

Pushilin has also confirmed that there are foreigners among those arrested , although he has not specified their exact number, according to statements collected by the Russian agency TASS.

” They had enough food and water, and weapons to spare . The problem was that they lacked medicine ,” Pushilin explained.

The head of the Donetsk separatist zone has added that at least six Ukrainian fighters died during the final raid when they tried to detonate an arsenal inside the steel mill to avoid capture.

In total, according to the figures that Pushilin shuffles, a total of 2,439 Ukrainian soldiers and combatants of the Azov paramilitary organization have been captured by Russian troops during the operations in Azovstal.