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The Azov Steelworks in Mariupol from the air
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
The port city of Mariupol has been the focal point of heavy fighting between the Kremlin troops and the Ukrainian army for weeks – most recently, a last unit of the Ukrainian Azov regiment entrenched itself in the Mariupol industrial complex Azov-Stahl.
So that it is over now: According to Azov commander Denys Prokopenkos, the Ukrainian government has decided to end the defense of Mariupol.
"The higher military command gave the order to save the lives of the soldiers of our garrison," Azov commander Denys Prokopenko said in a video released at noon.
Work is underway to remove the bodies of killed fighters from the facility.
All the wounded were evacuated and only the "killed heroes" remained, Prokopenko said.
Russia announced in April that it had taken control of Mariupol after weeks of siege.
In fact, that wasn't entirely true: Ukrainian soldiers had entrenched themselves in the tunnel system beneath the vast Azov steel industrial complex, where they continued to be besieged by Russian troops.
Ukraine hopes for prisoner exchange
This week, the remaining Azov regiment fighters there had begun to surrender.
According to Russian sources, around 2,000 Ukrainian fighters left the plant by Friday and were captured.
The Ukrainian government hopes that the soldiers will be freed from the steel mill as part of a prisoner exchange.
However, the Russian authorities have repeatedly pointed out that they regard at least some of them not as soldiers but as neo-Nazi fighters.
Leonid Slutsky, who also worked for Moscow as a negotiator during the war, even brought up the death penalty for the defenders of the steel mill.
The complete capture of Mariupol would be a strategic success for Moscow.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, fierce resistance in the port city has significantly slowed the advance of Russian forces towards the large city of Zaporizhia, which is still in Ukrainian hands.
mfh/mrc/AFP