Ukrainian troops unlikely to get easy exit from steel mill

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Followng the evacuation of some civilians from a sprawling steel mill besieged by Russian forces in the port of Mariupol, attention is turning to the fate of hundreds of Ukrainian troops still inside the plant’s warren of underground tunnels and bunkers. They count both able-bodied and wounded fighters among their ranks. Their choice seems to be either fighting to the death or surrendering in the hope of being spared under the terms of international humanitarian law. Legal experts say Russian forces could let injured Ukrainian troops leave, but they aren’t required to do so. And doubts have swirled around Russia’s willingness to uphold international law on the treatment of prisoners of war.