The circumstances of the evacuation were initially unclear. On the Ukrainian side, the wounded defenders were said to have been exchanged for Russian prisoners of war. According to Ukrainian information, about 40 wounded soldiers were believed to be in the steel mills, and about 1,000 soldiers were hiding there. The steel industry became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against the Russian occupiers.
Moscow refused to rescue fighters for weeks. Finally, on Monday there were Russian statements about the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for wounded soldiers, which were not confirmed by Ukraine.
APA/AFP Mariupol steel mill has been under Russian siege for weeks
A commander of troops stranded at the steel mill said in a video that he was carrying out orders from the high command to save soldiers’ lives. He had left open exactly what he wanted to say. He did not say that groups surrounded by Russian units would surrender. At the same time, the video also said that steel mill fighters held out for 82 days, buying time for Ukraine. Reuters sees this as a sign that the battle for the plant may be coming to an end.
Disagreement over fate
The Defense Ministry in Moscow said there was a ceasefire and that a humanitarian corridor would be opened. Ukrainian fighters were flown to the pro-Russian separatist-controlled city of Novoazovsk in eastern Ukraine, according to Reuters. The Kiev government has always demanded that the wounded be transferred to the Ukrainian-controlled area or to a third country.
debate
Ukraine: how to achieve peace?
The steelworks is the last bastion of the Ukrainian army in the strategically important port city of Mariupol. In recent weeks, hundreds of civilians have been rescued from the massive industrial complex. There have been reports about the critical situation at the steel mill for weeks. The entrenched soldiers apparently lack food, medicine and water. The Russian army apparently controls the rest of the coastal city.
Ukraine has advanced to the border
Meanwhile, Ukraine managed to report a symbolic victory elsewhere. According to government information, Russian troops were pushed back in the northeast and the Russian border was reached. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry released a video showing soldiers standing next to a border post in the national colors of blue and yellow. At least at one point they advanced towards the Russian border. The governor of the eponymous region, Oleh Sinegubov, said on Telegram that soldiers were defending the city of Kharkiv.
In Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, the situation remains difficult, according to local governor Serhiy Hajdaj. Russian troops continued to try to take the city of Severodonetsk, Hajday said on TV. The leaders of the self-proclaimed “People’s Republic” of Luhansk called for a general mobilization. In the Donbas, Russian forces advanced in some places. Russia is also expected to join forces in Izyum, in the south of the country. A rocket attack was also reported in Odessa, which reportedly destroyed a tourist lodge. The real objective was a bridge.
Russian forces shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. One plane was hit near Snake Island in the Black Sea, the other two in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions. Rocket fire continues and targets eastern Ukraine.