MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Wounded Ukrainian marines, who had been taken prisoners, speak about decent treatment in regard to them, according to a video footage circulated by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday.

"I sustained wounds after an explosion caused by booby-trap, which I tried to set up myself. I remained lying on a concrete floor for two days. I was later discovered by militia soldiers. They rushed me to a hospital. To be honest, I was shocked. I was treated just like any other ordinary human being. I did not expect such treatment," Yury Andrieyenko, a sailor of the Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, said.

"We were all told before that we would be subjected to beating, but there was nothing at all about it," the sailor said adding that he wished to express his gratitude to doctors, who attended to him.

Another imprisoned sailor of Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade, Yury Podavansky, said he sustained severe wounds to his legs before his was taken prisoner.

"When they [DPR militia servicemen] discovered us, they attended to me and to the rest of the boys with me, rendering the first medical assistance. Due to their promptly provided medical assistance the lives of five people were saved," Podavansky said.

"We were taken to a hospital afterwards where we received a qualified medical assistance," he continued. "I woke up the other day, a surgeon approached me showing bullets, which he extracted from my body, and said ‘Boy, you’ll stay on living’."

The sailor also said that all imprisoned Ukrainian troops are getting ample nutrition.

"I did not expect such treatment. We had been told the opposite. But in reality, we are very well treated," the sailor noted. "We are sharing the hospital here with them [wounded DPR and LPR servicemen]. We are all treated equally."

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov reported on April 12 that The Russian army delivered air and artillery strikes to thwart a Ukrainian nationalists’ attempt to escape from Mariupol, eliminating up to 50 militants while 42 others laid down their arms.

The following day, Konashenkov reported that 1,026 Ukrainian personnel of the 36th Marine Infantry Brigade, including 162 officers and 47 female service members, voluntarily surrendered in Mariupol.

The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.