Celebrating small victories
KYIV, Ukraine — More than 260 Ukrainian fighters, including the badly wounded, were evacuated Monday from a steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol and taken to areas under Russia’s control, the Ukrainian military said.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 seriously wounded fighters were taken to a hospital in Novoazovsk, east of Mariupol. An additional 211 fighters were evacuated to Olenivka.
Malyar said an exchange would be worked out for their return home.
She also said missions were underway to rescue the remaining fighters inside the plant, the last stronghold of resistance in the ruined southern port city of Mariupol.
Earlier Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced an agreement for the wounded to leave the steelworks for treatment in a town held by pro-Moscow separatists.
After nightfall Monday, several buses pulled away from the steel mill accompanied by Russian military vehicles. There was no immediate word on whether the wounded would be considered prisoners of war.
— As European Union leaders continue to push for an embargo on Russian oil, Hungary’s prime minister insisted Monday his country would not support any sanctions that negatively affect Hungary’s energy security.
In a speech in Hungary’s parliament, nationalist leader Viktor Orban said Hungary would not block EU sanctions as long as they “don’t go beyond the red line of Hungary’s economic protection. That is, as long as they don’t jeopardize Hungary’s energy security.”
Orban said that EU leaders are “convinced that European sanctions can force Russia to its knees … but no matter how hard I try, I can’t remember any continental blockade ever being successful.”
Orban’s government has remained firm in its rejection of sanctions on Russian energy exports.
Earlier EU offers to Hungary to extend the deadline for dropping Russian oil from its energy mix have not swayed the government in Budapest.
— McDonald’s says it’s started the process of selling its Russian business, which includes 850 restaurants that employ 62,000 people.
The fast food giant pointed to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, saying holding on to its business in Russia “is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values.”
The Chicago-based company had temporarily closed its stores in Russia, but was still paying employees.
On Monday, it said it would seek to have a Russian buyer hire its employees and pay them until the sale closes. It didn’t identify a prospective buyer. McDonald’s said it plans to start removing golden arches and other signs with its name.
— A Ukrainian military commander in the eastern Luhansk region says strikes overnight hit a hospital in Severodonetsk, killing two and injuring nine, including a child. Overnight strikes also hit other towns.
Regional military governor Serhiy Haidai said on Monday that Ukrainian special forces blew up Russian-held railway bridges between Rubizhne and Severodonetsk as part of efforts to slow the Russian offensive, and posted a video on Telegram purportedly showing such a blast. The information could not immediately be independently verified.