By Natalia Zinets
MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) – More than 250 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after weeks of desperate resistance, ending the most devastating siege of Russia’s war in Ukraine and allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to , celebrate a rare victory in their faltering campaign.
Reuters saw buses leave the steelworks, where soldiers had defended themselves in a complex of shelters and tunnels, overnight and five of them arrived in the Russian-held city of Novoazovsk, where Moscow said the wounded would receive treatment.
What will happen to the soldiers is unclear, although the Kremlin said Putin personally assured that the prisoners would be treated according to international standards.
The end of the battle that has come to symbolize Ukrainian resistance has come as invading Russian forces suffer elsewhere, with troops retreating from the outskirts of Kharkiv in the northeast.
On the international front, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Sweden and Finland would on Wednesday hand over their applications to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) western military alliance, abandoning a long-standing policy of neutrality for concerns about Putin’s broader intentions.
The leaders of these countries expressed optimism that they can overcome Turkey’s objections to their joining the group, with a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at paving the way for the 30-nation alliance.
That decision will lead to the expansion of the Western alliance that Putin has invoked as one of the main justifications for what he calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
CITY IN RUINS
The complete capture of Mariupol is Russia’s biggest victory in the war, giving Moscow full control of the Sea of Azov coast and an unbroken stretch of eastern and southern Ukraine the size of Greece.
But that comes as Russia’s campaign is faltering elsewhere, with its troops around the northeastern city of Kharkiv retreating at the fastest pace since being driven out of the north and area around Kiev in late March.
Russia said at least 256 Ukrainian soldiers had “lay down their arms and surrendered”, including 51 seriously wounded. Ukraine said 264 soldiers, including 53 wounded, had left.
A Russian Defense Ministry video showed soldiers leaving the steelworks, some carried on stretchers, others with their hands up, being searched by Russian soldiers.
While the two sides had talked about an agreement for Ukrainian soldiers to abandon the massive steelworks, many details had not yet reached the public, including how many soldiers remained inside and whether there would be an agreement on some sort of prisoner exchange.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Kiev would not disclose how many soldiers were inside the steelworks until they were all safe.
“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.
“The supreme military command ordered the commanders of units stationed in Azovstal to save the lives of personnel… Mariupol’s defenders are the heroes of our time.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: “Ukraine needs living Ukrainian heroes.”
(Reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev and a Reuters journalist in Mariupol; Additional reporting from Reuters newsrooms)
#Siege #Mariupol #appears #Ukrainian #soldiers #emerging #ruins