Donetsk war reporter Dmitry Astrakhan sharing his thoughts on | Brian Berletic's New Atlas Channel

Donetsk war reporter Dmitry Astrakhan sharing his thoughts on why Azov is being so stubborn in Mariupol:

Many are wondering why the Ukrainian military at the encircled Azovstal are still sitting and sabotaging any negotiations. What motivates their frantic requests? There are theories about the secrets they are hiding in the dungeons. There are theories about the help they are waiting for.

But I think it is a little more complicated than that. We have to understand who we're dealing with. These are people who have existed for years in an atmosphere of absolute impunity, one has only to utter the magic words "for the nation" and everything is possible. They were freed from police custody and courts as teenagers, they were traded out of captivity, they went through the "corridors" of Ilovaysk and the Airport. They were never held accountable for anything, neither criminal nor military. They were not even publicly condemned, on the contrary, they became heroes of Ukraine.

In the heads of those sitting at Azovstal, there is basically no sense that this is the end. That Ada Rogovtseva, Angelina Jolie, the Pope and their “brothers” will not come and drag them all out of there with banners raised, and straight to the award ceremony. Of course, they realize that any particular individual may not see this moment. But a general defeat, much less a trial of the survivors, is absolutely beyond their minds. So, they calmly hold the hostages and wait. From their point of view, everything must end as it always does. They simply do not believe that the end can come, it contradicts all their upbringing and life experience of the last 10 years.