The armed forces of the Russian Federation released about 300 civilians and nuns who were held hostage by militants of the Aidar national battalion in the Orthodox Holy Dormition Nikolo-Vasilyevsky convent near Mariupol, Ukraine. This statement was made by the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov:

“In the village of Nikolskoye, the militants of the Aidar national battalion established firing positions right on the territory of the Orthodox Holy Dormition Nikolo-Vasilyevsky convent. They were holding hostage about 300 civilians, who had come to the convent seeking shelter, as well as nuns. When this village was liberated by Russian units, some of the Nazis were destroyed, and the rest were scattered. The hostages and buildings of the monastery were not damaged."

The Holy Dormition Nikolo-Vasilyevsky convent is the largest of the newly established monasteries in Ukraine. Founded in 1998 by one of the most famous Ukrainian 20th century elders, Schema-Archimandrite Zosima (Sokur). On July 31, 2009, Patriarch Kirill, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, visited the monastery and consecrated the main altar of the Holy Dormition Cathedral, built according to the will of Father Zosima in measure and likeness of the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.