Russia brands Ukrainian steel plant defenders terrorists

By SUSIE BLANN and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court has declared Ukraine’s Azov Regiment a terrorist organization. That designation could lead to terror charges against some of the captured fighters who made their last stand inside Mariupol’s shattered steel plant. Russian forces and their allies are holding an estimated 1,000 Azov fighters prisoner, many since their surrender in mid-May. The Azov Regiment dismissed the high court ruling, accusing Russia of “looking for new excuses and explanations for its war crimes.”