In . – 05/19/2022 10:41 (act 05/19/2022 10:41)
Moscow: 1,730 fighters surrendered in Mariupol. ©AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov
According to Russian sources, 1,730 Ukrainian fighter jets from beleaguered steelmakers Azovstal surrendered in the fiercely contested Ukrainian port of Mariupol last week.
In the last 24 hours alone, more than 770 Ukrainians have been captured, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Thursday. Initially, there was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.
Photos of Mariupol from May 18, 2022
Russia wants to capture Ukrainian militants from Mariupol
The head of separatists in the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said on Russian state television on Thursday that most of the Ukrainian soldiers remaining in Mariupol had been captured. More than half of the fighters who entrenched themselves in the steel industry have already left the factory.
It’s unclear how many people are staying in steel mills
On the Russian side, there was talk of about 2,500 people who would have remained in the extensive bunkers of the steel mill before the start of the evacuation mission. Ukrainians spoke of about 1,000. The information cannot be independently verified. It is also unclear whether Moscow – as Kiev had hoped – will agree to an exchange of soldiers for Russian prisoners of war.
Heavy fighting in Mariupol since the beginning of the war in Ukraine
Shortly after the start of the war of aggression, Russian troops surrounded Mariupol along with pro-Russian separatists in early March and almost completely conquered it within a few weeks. The steelworks fighters became the last defenders of the strategically important city on the Sea of Azov.