KYIV: The bodies of some Ukrainian fighters killed defending the city of Mariupol from Russian forces at a vast steel works have been handed over to Kyiv, the families of Ukraine’s Azov unit of the national guard said.

Ukrainian forces defending Mariupol were holed up in the Azovstal steelworks for weeks as Russian forces tried to capture the city.

Despite losing leg in Mariupol, fighter eyes return to Ukraine frontline

The Ukrainian soldiers eventually surrendered last month and were taken into custody by Russian forces.