Last steelworks defenders have surrendered, say Russians
THE last Ukrainian troops holed up in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol surrendered last night, Russia’s defence ministry claimed.
The final 531 troops have left, and the plant “has been completely liberated”, the ministry said. Ukrainian authorities had not responded at the time of print.
“Since May 16, 2,439 Nazis from the Azov [regiment] and Ukrainian troops blocked in the factory have surrendered. Today, May 20, the last group of 531 fighters gave themselves up,” Igor Konashenkov, a defence ministry spokesman, said.
Yesterday, the Ukrainian government urged the troops inside the steelworks to give up fighting. Hundreds of men continued to walk, limp or be carried out of the destroyed steelworks yesterday. But instead of following his men out to the waiting Russian trucks and buses, Capt Sviatoslav Palamar, a commander in the Azov Battalion, taunted his Russian attackers. “Me and other commanders are still in the Azovstal plant. A certain operation is going on but I won’t disclose its details,” he said.
“Thank you to the whole world and thanks to Ukraine for the support. See you!”
Analysts say a hardcore group of fighters may now have broken away from their main unit to keep on fighting Russian forces. But most of the besieged Ukrainian soldiers appeared keen to follow their orders. In a video posted online, another Azov Battalion commander said he would surrender. “The higher military command has given the order to save the lives of the soldiers of our garrison and to stop defending the city,” Denys Prokopenko said in a video on Telegram.
Meanwhile, photos appeared to capture the bittersweet mood amongst the surrendering soldiers. In them, two soldiers strike poses while surrounded by the twisted metal of the ruined steelworks. “Well, that’s all. Thank you for the shelter, Azovstal – the place of my death and my life,” Dmyrto Kozatsky, a soldier, wrote alongside the photos. He added that he was already in “captivity”.