The Battle of Mariupol is over, Russia wins the biggest victory

Moscow says more than 250 Ukrainian soldiers at the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol have laid down their weapons and surrendered. Kiev said it had ordered the evacuation of the entire Mariupol garrison, marking the end of the bloodiest battle in decades in Europe.

Reuters reported that buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers left the steel factory on the night of May 16, and five of them arrived in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk on the morning of May 17. Here, Moscow said, soldiers will be treated for their wounds.

In one such vehicle, marked with the letter Z – the symbol of the Russian campaign in Ukraine, the wounded were lined up on three floors of seats.

While both sides talk of an agreement under which all Ukrainian troops will leave the massive steel-rolled complex, many details have yet to be made public, including how many troops remain inside and whether any form of pre-agreed prisoner swap.

The Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin had personally assured that prisoners would be treated according to international standards.

“The Mariupol garrison has completed its combat mission,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.

“The Supreme Military Command has ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of their soldiers… The defenders of Mariupol are the heroes of our time,” the statement said. father added.

Ukrainian soldiers at the Azovstal steel plant, Mariupol, are said to have laid down their weapons and surrendered, the fiercest battle since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict ended. Photo: Al Jazeera

Meanwhile, video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows soldiers leaving the factory in broad daylight, some carried out on stretchers, others raising their hands to be searched by Russian soldiers.

“In the past 24 hours, 265 fighters, of which 51 were seriously injured, surrendered their weapons and were captured,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on May 17.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said that 264 soldiers had left the factory, of which 53 were seriously injured and were taken to a medical facility, and efforts were underway to bring them back. the rest go out.

The above error cannot be explained immediately. Either way, the move marked the end of the Battle of Mariupol, where Ukraine claimed tens of thousands of people were killed after months of bombardment and siege by Russian forces.

The city of Mariupol now lies in ruins. Gaining full control of this strategic port city is Russia’s biggest victory of the campaign in Ukraine. Thus, Moscow would have full control of the Azov coast and a seamless strip of land in southeastern Ukraine about the size of Greece.

But the victory came to Russia as Moscow’s campaign faltered elsewhere, including Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine and the area around the capital Kiev in the north.

Buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant move from Mariupol with the escort of pro-Russian troops, May 16, 2022. Photo: Al Jazeera

Authorities have offered several clues about the fate of the last Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Kiev wanted to arrange a prisoner exchange for the wounded Ukrainians once their conditions were stabilized, but neither side has disclosed the terms of any specific agreement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: “We hope we can save our lives. There are seriously injured among them. They are being cared for. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive.”

UN spokesman Saviano Abreu said: The UN helped evacuate civilians from Azovstal this month, but was not involved in the evacuation this time.