More than 260 Ukrainian fighters, including 53 wounded, were evacuated this Monday, May 16, 2022, from the Azovstal Steel Plant, the last bastion of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol.
“On May 16, 53 seriously injured were evacuated from Azovstal to Novoazovsk for medical treatment, and 211 others were transported to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor,” Those two locations are in an area controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar said in a video, indicating they would be later. trade “.
Ukrainian fighters seem ready to leave the steel mill
In a press release, the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed and pointed out the evacuation of these 264 soldiers “Rescue activities of the defenders who remain on the territory of Azovstal continue”without specifying how many Ukrainian soldiers remained on the ground.
The last Ukrainian militants entrenched in Mariupol at the Azovstal Steel Plant announced on Monday that they “ Task completed” of the Ukrainian high command “to save lives”which apparently signaled that they were preparing to leave this place, which had been under siege by the Russian army for several weeks.
“In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison carried out the order approved by the military command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people.” confirmed in a message published on social networks the Azov regiment defending this site.
Explosions in Kyiv tonight
Massive explosions resounded in the city of Kyiv overnight, with reports of them “10 consecutive explosions”, while Russia continues its attack on the country.
Footage circulating on social media shows the sky over Kyiv lit up by the apparent blasts on Tuesday morning.
Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko tweeted: “Kyiv is currently under heavy attack. My friends say there has never been so much noise. It is WEST of Ukraine. Very close to Poland. »
Fighting intensified in the east
The Russian offensive in Donbass intensified on Monday, leaving 10 dead in Severodonetsk, a key administrative center still under Kyiv control, while Russia warned against responding to sorties“Military Infrastructure” of NATO in Finland and Sweden, candidates for joining the Atlantic Alliance.
In Severodonetsk, a city that has become important to Ukrainians since Moscow-backed separatists seized part of Donbass (eastern Ukraine) in 2014, “At least 10 people were killed” during Russian bombardments, the governor of the region announced on Monday.
This city is almost surrounded by the armed forces of Moscow. In an earlier statement on Monday, Serguiï Gaïdaï reported artillery attacks on Severodonetsk and its twin city Lysychank, causing fires in residential areas. “Severodonetsk suffered very strong strikes”he added, accompanying his message with photos of the destruction.
Despite calls from Ukrainian authorities to evacuate Lysytchansk, which is separated from Severodonetsk only by a river, the Siversky Donets, and is regularly bombed, more than 20,000 are civilians – up from 100,000 before the war, according to volunteers distributing aid – left over in the area.
“I don’t think people fully understand the situation”lamented Viktor Levtchenko, a police officer who tried to persuade them to evacuate. “We have to dodge the shelling and cross very dangerous areas to reach them, feed them and try to evacuate them.”
Russian soldiers “expelled”
In the northeast, Ukrainians have regained control of part of the border in the Kharkiv region, according to Kyiv. The Defense Ministry posted a video on its Facebook account on Monday showing Ukrainian soldiers in front of a border post painted in Ukraine’s colors of yellow and blue “Expelled the Russians”.
The Russians spent weeks bombing northern and eastern districts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, from sites recently taken over by the Ukrainians.
Ukrainian authorities now expect that the withdrawn units from the Kharkiv region will reinforce Russian troops in Donbass, where they are struggling to make headway, according to Oleksiï Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.
New attempts in Donbass?
“We are preparing for new attempts by Russia to attack Donbass,” to the “ to intensify its movement towards southern Ukraine”, That’s what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday. Several western officials, including Britain’s military intelligence service, have pointed out in recent days that the recent Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine has not resulted in any significant territorial gains.
The Kremlin has been increasing warnings since last week on another front, the likely expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to include Finland and Sweden, two countries forced to abandon Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, sparking decades of military non-alignment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday these memberships had not materialized “an imminent threat”. But, he continued, “The deployment of military infrastructure on the territories of these countries will of course lead to a reaction.”
Russia had explained its attack in Ukraine in particular with the rapprochement of its western neighbor with NATO and saw it as a threat. existential for his safety.
France made sure of that on Monday evening “would stand by” of the two countries in case of aggression, while London called for their integration into NATO ” as soon as possible “.
Invoice from 15 to 18 million euros
After a visit to Germany, during which he welcomed the development of Berlin’s position, which is now ready to supply heavy weapons to Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba was in Brussels on Monday to discuss, among other things, new sanctions against Russia.
His EU counterparts are meeting there to try to unblock a project to embargo Russian oil imports, opposed by Hungary, which is heavily dependent on it – to the chagrin of the member states closest to Kyiv.
“ Unfortunately, the whole Union is being held captive by a Member State that cannot help us find consensus.” regretted the head of Lithuanian diplomacy, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
For the Head of Hungarian Diplomacy, Peter Szijjarto, “Hungarians rightly expect a proposed solution to finance investments (new infrastructure) and compensate for price increases, which means a total cost of around 15-18 billion euros.”
At the end of the meeting, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, acknowledged that the finalization of the 6th sanctions package was complete “will take time”. An extraordinary European summit is planned for May 30th and 31st.
war in Ukraine. New evacuations in Azovstal, explosions in Kyiv… The point of the nightEXPAND