Ukraine’s troops surrender at besieged Mariupol plant
Russia’s defence ministry says 265 Ukrainian fighters have surrendered, including 51 who are seriously wounded
KYIV/NOVOAZOVSK, UKRAINE: More than 250 Ukrainian fighters have surrendered after weeks holed up in the labyrinth of bunkers and tunnels below Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works as the most devastating siege of Russia’s war in Ukraine draws to a close.
The evacuation of Ukraine’s remaining troops from their last stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol, ceded control of the city to Russia after months of bombardment.
Russian forces pummelled Mariupol, a major port on the Sea of Azov between Russia and Crimea, with artillery for weeks while some of the fiercest urban warfare of the conflict left much of the city a wasteland.
Mariupol is now in ruins after a Russian siege that Ukraine says killed tens of thousands of people in the city.
“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its combat mission,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement. “The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel ... Defenders of Mariupol are the heroes of our time,” it added.
Russia’s defence ministry said 265 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered, including 51 who were seriously wounded and would be treated at Novoazovsk in the Russian-backed breakaway Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s military command had said in the early hours of Tuesday that the mission to defend the steel plant was over.
“Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin had guaranteed that the fighters who surrendered would be treated “in accordance with international standards”.
Russian airstrike kills eight
Eight people were killed and 12 wounded in a Russian airstrike on the village of Desna in the northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv on Tuesday, the regional emergency service said. The Chernihiv region’s governor, Viacheslav Chaus, said earlier on Tuesday: “Yes, there are no more occupiers in Chernihiv region but it is easy for them to reach us. Don’t ignore air raid warnings!”
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that its missiles destroyed US and European arms shipments in Ukraine’s western Lviv region.
Heavy shelling reported around Donetsk
Zelensky’s office said on Tuesday the entire front line around Donetsk is under constant massive shelling.
Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces were reinforcing and preparing to renew their offensive near Slovyansk and Drobysheve, southeast of the strategic town of Izyum, having suffered losses elsewhere.
Areas around Kyiv and the western city of Lviv, near the Polish border, have continued to come under Russian attack. A series of explosions struck Lviv early on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said. One missile hit a military facility but there were no casualties, according to Zelensky’s office.
A village in Russia’s western province of Kursk bordering Ukraine came under Ukrainian fire on Tuesday, regional governor Roman Starovoit said.
Russian border guards returned fire to quell the shooting from large-calibre weapons on the border village of Alekseyevka, Starovoit wrote on messaging app Telegram.
US Senate advances $40bn Ukraine aid bill
The US Senate overwhelmingly voted to move towards passage of $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, underscoring the broad Republican and Democratic support for the country as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion.
Monday’s 81-11 procedural vote sets up Senate passage of the legislation as soon as Wednesday if all lawmakers consent to waive rules on debate. That would send it to President Joe Biden for his signature if no changes are made.