As Dmytro Kartavov and his family joined thousands of people trying to flee the bombed-out city of Mariupol, one additional obstacle awaited as Russian troops sought to identify anyone fighting with Ukrainian forces defending the city.
"They stripped the men naked, looked for tattoos," said Kartayov, a 32 year-old builder, who said the troops paid particular attention to men's knees.
On the way, Kartavov said Russian soldiers checked men for signs they had been fighting with Ukrainian forces. Fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces including regular army troops and members of the Azov Battalion, a far-right militia now part of Ukraine's National Guard, have held off the assault for weeks, rejecting Kremlin demands to lay down their arms.
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