Russia has claimed more than 250 Ukrainian fighters who were holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have surrendered.
“Over the past 24 hours, 265 militants have laid down their arms and surrendered, including 51 seriously wounded,” its defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin had guaranteed the Ukrainian fighters would be treated “in accordance with international standards”.
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It comes after Ukraine’s military said it was working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in the besieged port city.
It is not known how many – if any – Ukrainian fighters are still in the steelworks.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, earlier said those who needed medical treatment were taken to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk, about 30 miles east of Mariupol.
Others were being taken to Olenivka, about 55 miles north, through humanitarian corridors, she said, adding that they would be exchanged with Russian military prisoners before returning home.
For weeks, the soldiers were the last remaining pocket of resistance against the Russian advance in Mariupol, a strategically-important city in southern Ukraine.
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Over 250 Ukrainian soldiers leave Azovstal
Ms Malyar said: “Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, Ukraine gained critically important time, and they fulfilled all their tasks. But it is impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means.”
“We are working to save people who are still in Azovstal,” she added, without saying how many people remained.
The struggle became a powerful symbol of Ukrainian resistance
Dominic Waghorn
@DominicWaghorn
The Ukrainians are claiming ‘mission accomplished’ with the fall of the Azovstal steelworks. The heroic struggle held down 20,000 soldiers for 82 days, they say, and bought valuable time to prepare defences elsewhere. The battle is now over, they say.
There was no military alternative, according to deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar. She said: ‘Unfortunately it is impossible to unblock these people in a military way and there is no other way to rescue them other than the method we have been using. This was the only way.’
At least 260 Ukrainian fighters are now in Russian hands, the first driven away in buses marked with a Z, the hated symbol of Russia’s invasion. Their final fate and that of those left in the steelworks still isn’t certain. It’s not clear how many remain underground.
Yulia Tarasenko’s husband Oleksandr isn’t out yet but she’s hoping he will be soon. She said: ‘I am waiting for him, waiting for him so much. I hope that their remaining time in captivity won’t be much longer. I hope that they will be exchanged soon. I hope that very much. I am really waiting.’
The small beleaguered garrison was able to hold off thousands of Russians using massively overwhelming firepower. For two-and-a-half months, the invaders could not prise them from the sprawling network of tunnels below the huge industrial complex.
The struggle became a powerful symbol of Ukrainian resistance. But the Russians say the fighters have now laid down their weapons and surrendered and among the fighters, some of their most hated enemies, who they say are Nazis. The Azov Brigade that formed much of the garrison has far-right elements.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the captives will be treated in accordance with international law, but in Moscow there are already calls for some of the fighters to be executed.
It’s not clear how many are left inside Azovstal and if Russia will exchange the fighters for its prisoners, as Ukraine has claimed.
It’s a victory for Russia but at enormous cost. It has control now of a city reduced to rubble, emptied of people, while its forces continue to struggle to take any more territory.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said on Monday night: “Thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence, as well as the negotiating team, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, we hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys.
“There are severely wounded ones among them – they’re receiving care.
“I want to emphasise that Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle. I think that every adequate person will understand these words.”
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Day 83 of the war in Ukraine
On Monday, Russia announced an agreement for the injured Ukrainian soldiers to leave the steel plant for treatment in a town held by pro-Moscow separatists.
Later last night, five buses were seen leaving the steel plant with soldiers inside.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Facebook: “The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel.
“Efforts to rescue defenders who remain on the territory of Azovstal continue.”
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At one point it was thought there were a few thousand Ukrainian troops in the steelworks, along with a few hundred civilians, as Russian soldiers closed in.
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Read more:The pounding of Azovstal – pictures that tell a thousand words
The Azov Regiment said that its troops in Mariupol held out for 82 days, buying time for the rest of Ukraine to fight Russian forces and secure Western weapons.
For much of that time, the soldiers in Mariupol – along with the remaining civilians – faced severe shortages of food, water, electricity, ammunition, and medicine.
Ukraine says tens of thousands of people have been killed in Mariupol, with much of the city lying in ruins.
