Since the early days of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the Mariupol and Donbas regions have been the main target of the Russian military. One of the major Ukrainian strongholds is the Port city of Azov in eastern Ukraine.
Prior to 2006, Azov was part of the Russian Federation and later for liberated by the Azov Battalion. Since then, recapturing the Mariupol region has been part of the plans for the invasion. The Azov Battalion was established in 2014 when Russia took over Crimea and since it's establishment it has been fighting against several external aggressors most especially from the Russian axis.
Over the years, the Azov Battalion have faced several criticisms from the international community as a terrorists group, but during this year's invasion, the battalion have been the stronghold of the Ukrainian military apparatus defending Ukraine from the Mariupol region and Azov is today known as the last Ukrainian resistance city, with the battalion fighting tirelessly to repeal the Russian military from capturing the terranean region.
Two weeks ago precisely, the Azovstal steelworks was the battlefield, which saw the killings as well as the evacuation of civilians by the International Red Cross Society in collaboration with the Azov Battalion. The Russians have announced that most of the military personnel that makes up the Azov Battalion have surrendered to the Russian military.
The Azov Battalion communicated with the outside world via their Telegram channel, where they posted videos of the assaults and photos of heavily wounded fighters, and urged the government to find a way to evacuate them.Source
With the numbers of injured soldiers and the number of healthy soldiers in Azov, there was need for the Ukrainian government to either send backup team or to evacuate the soldiers. Lack of meeting the demands of the Azov Battalion request for evaluation, most of them were left with just one option, to surrender to the separatists.
And only the lack of water, food, medical care and ammunition forced the Azov fighters to come out and surrender to separatist and Russian forces earlier this week.Source
Not having enough basic needs available for the Azov Battalion have made them to surrender to the Russian military. The battalion lack food supply and ammunition that would've helped strengthen the Azov forces to carry on with the battle in Mariupol region.
With several pressures from citizens in Kyiv and other parts Ukraine insisting that the men of the Azov Battalion most be brought back alive. This is the response from Kyiv:
Kyiv insists the Azov servicemen will be swapped for Russian prisoners of war (POWs) – and their rescue is an absolute national priority.
“Ukraine needs the Ukrainian heroes to be alive,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address on Tuesday. “We keep on working to get the boys back home, and this work needs a delicate approach. And time.”Source
The major issues that Ukraine will face to bring back the Azov Battalion that were taken to the People's Republic of Donetsk will need expertise in diplomatic negotiations.
At this point, it's only swapping of prisoner's of war that can lead to the return of the members of the Azov battalion back to Ukraine alive.