By Henry Austin and Alexander Smith -
NBC News
Ukraine announced that its soldiers defending the last redoubt of Mariupol have stopped fighting, ceding control of the southeastern port city to Russia.
The bloody fighting, which has been going on for months, has been a reflection of the brutality of the Kremlin war and the resistance of the Ukrainian soldiers.
The evacuation of troops from the Azovstal steel plant represents a major but costly victory for Russia, as its military offensive falters and its geopolitical position is further weakened by Swedish and Finnish intentions to join NATO.
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Mariupol, once home to 400,000 people, is just 31 miles (50 kilometers) from the Russian border and was one of the first targets of the invasion.
But Ukrainian troops held out, and much of the strategic city is now in ruins after relentless Russian shelling and a siege that Ukraine says has killed tens of thousands of people.
Russian forces had surrounded the imposing Azovstal steel plant, where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers had defied an ultimatum to surrender and mounted a last defense for more than two months that stopped the Russian offensive in the east of the country.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported late on Monday that the garrison had "accomplished its combat mission" and would focus on saving soldiers' lives rather than fighting.
More than 260 soldiers had been evacuated from the steelworks, some 50 of them seriously wounded, and taken to Russian-controlled territory.
Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereschuk, indicated on the Telegram messaging application that the goal is to exchange them for Russian prisoners of war.
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The Reuters news agency saw five buses with troops arrive from Azovstal late on Monday in the nearby city of Novoazovsk.
In one of them, marked with a Z like many Russian military vehicles, men were stacked on stretchers on three levels.
One man was wheeled out, his head wrapped in bandages.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a video message late on Monday that it was "a difficult day" but that "like all others, it is aimed precisely at protecting our country and our people."
"Ukraine needs living Ukrainian heroes," he added.
The Ukrainian military's statement said the soldiers' resistance had not been in vain, as they were able to stop the advance of some 20,000 Russian soldiers and prevent the rapid seizure of Zaporizhzhia, a city to the northwest.
Holding Russian troops around Mariupol "gave us an opportunity to prepare and create defensive lines" and "give a decent push back to the aggressor," he said, giving the Ukrainian military "critical time to form reserves, regroup forces and receive help." of the partners".
The Russian Defense Ministry detailed in its daily report on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops at the steelworks had "laid down their arms and surrendered."
Capturing Mariupol is key because it would allow Russian forces in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula it invaded and annexed in 2014, to link up with those in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow has refocused its efforts.
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It comes amid a Russian invasion that most military experts and officials in the West say has been bungled.
Russian President Vladimir Putin withdrew his forces from an advance on the capital kyiv after suffering heavy losses, and is now focusing on areas surrounding pro-Russian breakaway regions in the country's east.
Ukraine's apparent surrender ends a siege that has lasted most of the eight-week Russian invasion.
Residents whose houses are not in ruins have been forced to live without electricity, heat, water, food or medical supplies.
Ukrainian officials said tens of thousands of people were likely killed during the siege.
Our sister network NBC News has not verified the death toll.
The city of Mariupol after the Russian military invasion launched on Ukraine, on April 12, 2022. Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images
The city leaders have been forced to ask for help, which has barely been able to arrive.
With bodies piling up in the streets, officials have resorted to burying the dead in mass graves.
An investigation by The Associated Press news agency revealed evidence that a Russian attack on a city theater in March killed nearly 600 people, making it the deadliest attack of the war.
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Another Russian attack on a maternity and children's hospital sparked global outrage following the deaths of four people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Mayor Vadym Boichenko accused Russia of bringing in mobile crematoria "to dispose of evidence of war crimes."
Our sister network NBC News has not been able to independently confirm this claim.