Ukrainian soldiers begin evacuation from Mariupol
The regiment that doggedly defended a steel mill as Ukraine’s last stronghold in the port city of Mariupol declared its mission complete yesterday after more than 260 fighters, including some badly wounded, were evacuated and taken to areas under Russia’s control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the evacuation to separatist-controlled territory was done to save the lives of the fighters who endured weeks of Russian assaults in the maze of underground passages below the hulking Azovstal steelworks. He said the “heavily wounded” were getting medical help.
“Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes to be alive. It’s our principle,” he said. An unknown number of fighters stayed behind to await other rescue efforts.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 seriously wounded fighters were taken from the Azovstal plant to a hospital in Novoazovsk, east of Mariupol. An additional 211 fighters were evacuated to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor.
She said an exchange would be worked out for their return home. Officials also planned to keep trying to save the fighters who remained inside.
“The work to bring the guys home continues, and it requires delicacy and time,” Zelenskyy said.
Before yesterday’s evacuations from the steelworks began, the Russian Defence Ministry announced an agreement for the wounded to leave the mill for treatment in a town held by pro-Moscow separatists. There was no immediate word on whether the wounded would be considered prisoners of war.
After nightfall yesterday, several buses pulled away from the steel mill accompanied by Russian military vehicles. Maliar later confirmed that the evacuation had taken place.
“Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, Ukraine gained critically important time to form reserves and regroup forces and receive help from partners,” she said. “And they fulfilled all their tasks. But it is impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means.”
The commander of the Azov Regiment, which led the defence of the plant, said in a prerecorded video message released yesterday that the evacuation marked the end of the regiment’s mission.
“Absolutely safe plans and operations don’t exist during war,” Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko said, adding that all risks were considered and part of the plan included saving “as many lives of personnel as possible”.
Elsewhere in the Donbas, the eastern city of Sievierdonetsk came under heavy shelling that killed at least 10 people, said Serhiy Haidai, the Governor of the Luhansk region. In the Donetsk region, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook that nine civilians were killed in shelling.
The western Ukrainian city of Lviv was rocked by loud explosions early yesterday. Witnesses counted at least eight blasts accompanied by distant booms, and the smell of burning was apparent some time later.
But Ukrainian troops also advanced as Russian forces pulled back from around the northeastern city of Kharkiv in recent days. Zelenskyy thanked the soldiers who reportedly pushed them all the way to the Russian border in the Kharkiv region.
Away from the battlefield, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a Nato member, ratcheted up his objection to Finland and Sweden joining Nato. He accused the countries of failing to take a “clear” stance against Kurdish militants and other groups Ankara considers terrorists, and of imposing military sanctions on Turkey. All 30 current Nato members must agree to let the Nordic neighbours join.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow “does not have a problem” with Sweden or Finland as they apply for Nato membership, but warned “the expansion of military infrastructure onto this territory will of course give rise to our reaction in response”.
Putin launched the invasion on February 24 in what he said was an effort to check Nato’s expansion but has seen that strategy backfire.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the membership process for both could be quick.
Europe is also working to choke off funding for the Kremlin’s war by reducing the billions of dollars it spends on imports of Russian energy.
A proposed EU embargo faces opposition from some countries dependent on Russian imports, including Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bulgaria also has reservations.