Ukrainian soldiers captured at Azovstal plant in ‘satisfactory’ conditions

Denys Prokopenko told his wife the prisoners had not been harmed but it was not immediately clear if he had been able to speak freely during the conversation. Photograph: Azov Regiment/Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces after the three-month siege of the Azovstal steel plant are being held in “satisfactory” conditions, according to the unit commander’s wife, amid uncertainty over the fate of the prisoners.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov battalion, was able to briefly call his wife, Kateryna, who said she had also been told that the prisoners had not been subjected to violence. It was not immediately clear if Prokopenko had been able to speak freely during the conversation.