China News Service, May 23 (Guan Na) The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is still ongoing. Under the agreement between the two sides, more than 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers stationed at the Mariupol Azov Steel Plant have just completed the evacuation.
However, the "big fish" that has been hyped by foreign media for a long time, the senior Western commander, did not show up.
Although both Russia and Ukraine have not specified the existence of the "big fish", some analysts believe that identifying the surrendering personnel is the official start of "catching fish".
Ukrainian soldiers sit on a bus after evacuating the Azov steel plant on May 20, 2022.
It's all over, where is the "big fish" hiding?
Ukrainian soldiers stationed at the Azov steel plant have been besieged for months, many of them seriously wounded.
After Ukraine proposed to exchange Russian prisoners of war for the wounded at the steel plant, the two sides finally negotiated a "removal" plan.
The evacuation began on May 16 and lasted for 5 days. The last batch of 531 trapped Ukrainian troops left the Azov Steel Plant on May 20.
Russia said that a total of 2,439 Ukrainian troops and Ukrainian military "Azov Battalion" armed personnel surrendered.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that the last remaining defenders had been allowed to leave.
However, the leader of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushlin, said that the possibility of Ukrainian troops still hiding in the Azov steel plant could not be ruled out.
Although the Ukrainian armed personnel are said to have been evacuated, there is no report to disclose whether they include the legendary "big fish".
Earlier, when asked by reporters about the "big fish", Russian Presidential Spokesperson Peskov replied: "I cannot comment on the fit between the reports of these media and the truth. I think this is entirely the responsibility of the Chinese soldiers who dealt with this matter. privilege."
"There are foreigners in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces," said Sergei Voronsky, acting brigade commander of the 36th Ukrainian Marine Corps, who surrendered.
But to the question of whether there were senior officials and commanders among them, he replied: "I don't know anything about it. I don't know of any orders from any senior foreign commander."
Ukrainian soldiers inside the Azov steel plant on May 7, 2022.
There are also different opinions about where the "big fish" is hidden. Some netizens speculated that there were "big fish" hidden among the first evacuees because they were evacuated in a different car than others.
Some netizens speculated that Russia "quietly" escorted the "big fish" to Moscow for interrogation, etc., but they have all been falsified.
The "big fish" circulating on the Internet include "the head of the U.S. biological laboratory funded by the U.S. President Biden's Younger Son Foundation", retired Canadian Lieutenant General Cadieu, and NATO Army Command Commander Roger Claudia Egypt, Western intelligence agencies, several senior NATO commanders, etc.
However, various claims have either not been confirmed or have been debunked.
In-depth interrogation is the beginning of "catching fish"?
Russian military experts have analyzed that as Russia begins to interrogate Ukrainian surrenderers, "Western officers" hiding among foreign mercenaries may slowly surface.
The Russian "Life" news network reported on the 18th that at present, Donetsk investigators are conducting the first interrogation of the surrendered Azov steel plant personnel.
Russian experts said that the "Azov Battalion" militants must hand over those who gave orders.
"We will understand the status of foreign mercenaries. How many of them are mercenaries and which are NATO's 'big fish'."
Russian military expert Alexei Leonkov pointed out that by knowing all the details of Mariupol's "defense battle", the "real leader" behind the Ukrainian army's execution of orders can be found.
Smoke rises from the Azov steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 21, 2022.
Other experts say the first task of interrogation of surrenderers will be to identify Western officers and make their identities public.
Regarding the interrogation of the surrendering personnel, Russian military expert Konstantin Sivkov said that investigations may be carried out in many fields, but one of the most important issues is to investigate the criminal behavior of the "Azov Battalion" armed personnel.
The British "Guardian" reported that recently, the Russian Supreme Court will hear an application to classify the "Camp Azov" as a "terrorist organization", and those convicted will face up to 20 years in prison.