Ukraine has announced that hundreds of its fighters trapped for more than two months in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks have been evacuated.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, disclosed that 53 of the soldiers, who are badly wounded have been taken to Novoazovsk (a border town on the South-Eastern tip of Ukraine), held by Russian-backed rebels. The Defence Minister said another 211 were evacuated using a humanitarian corridor to Olenivka, another rebel-held town.
In a video address by Malyar, she 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”, adding that “We are working to save people who are still in Azovstal”, without specifically stating how many people remained.
Media reports also suggested that buses carrying Ukrainian fighters who were holed up beneath the besieged plant were seen leaving the huge industrial site in the Southern Port City.
An Address by the President
In another video address on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that the Ukrainian military, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence and negotiating teams, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations (UN), are involved in the evacuation operation.
He said “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”. However, he cautioned that the Ukrainian troops may not be freed immediately, warning that negotiations over their release will require “delicacy and time”.
Agreement with the Enemy
Earlier on Monday, May 16, 2022, Russia announced an agreement for the injured Ukrainian soldiers to leave the steel plant for treatment in a town held by pro-Moscow separatists.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, in a Facebook post indicated that “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”. Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, made up of Azov regiment, the National Guard, police and territorial defence units, as well as a number of civilians have been holed up at the site since Russian troops encircled the Southern city in early March 2022.
A Deliberate Plan to buy More Time
The sprawling four-square-mile complex is a maze of tunnels designed to survive a nuclear war. It is unclear how many people remained in the underground bunkers. But Ukraine authorities pointed out that its military, intelligence, National Guard and Border Service are “carrying out joint efforts to save” those left behind.
Meanwhile, the Azov regiment, a National Guard unit claimed that its fighters agreed to intentionally lay down their arms, with the aim of buying some 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 said tens of thousands of people were killed in Mariupol, with much of the city lying in ruins.
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