A march will take place in Vilnius on Monday to draw attention to the defenders of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol who are still imprisoned in Russia.
The march will start in Town Hall Square and will go to Cathedral Square where a rally will be held in support of the former fighters.
Three Azov soldiers who have been released and are being rehabilitated in Lithuania will also participate in the march, which will start at 17:30.
The march is organised by the Ukrainian Youth Group, the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families, and Arkadijus Vinokuras, who organises rallies in support of Ukraine.
The families have had no contact with Mariupol defenders since May 2022.
An elite unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fought the Russians in Mariupol from the Azovstal steel plant.
The Russians captured the city in 2022 after a three-month battle that left most of Mariupol in ruins. The last defenders of the Azov unit surrendered in May of that year. Ukraine says more than 260 soldiers, including some seriously wounded, were evacuated and taken to Moscow-controlled areas.
In September 2023, a major prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow was announced and later Ukraine received 215 prisoners, including soldiers who led the defence of Azovstal.
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