After enduring 82 days of bombardment an estimated 264 Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant have been transferred to Russian custody. Hundreds of troops and civilians had been holed up for weeks in underground bunkers in the sprawling industrial complex enduring fierce bombardment.
The surrender ends the longest and bloodiest battle of the Ukraine war, leaving behind the shattered port city of Mariupol and a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian Troops Taken From Azovstal Steelworks, Yielding Strategic City Of Mariupol To Russia
- By RFE/RL
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A convoy of Kremlin-backed separatists escorts buses transporting Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol late on May 16. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said 53 badly wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in separatist-held Novoazovsk, while another 211 were evacuated through a humanitarian corridor to another site.
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In his nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian military and intelligence negotiators as well as the Red Cross and the United Nations orchestrated the evacuation. "Ukraine needs its heroes alive," Zelenskiy said.
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A separatist soldier watches as a bus carrying Ukrainian forces from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol arrives in Novoazovsk on May 16.
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Separatist troops stand guard as buses carrying wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol arrive in Novoazovsk.
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A wounded Ukrainian soldier from Azovstal arrives in Novoazovsk, where he is to receive treatment for his injuries.
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A separatist fighter stands guard over a bus carrying wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol.
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Wounded Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol arrive in Novoazovsk under separatist military escort. There was no word on whether the wounded would be considered prisoners of war.
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The Ukrainian military's General Staff said some fighters remained trapped at Azovstal and efforts to rescue them were ongoing.
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A video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows Ukrainian soldiers being checked by separatist troops after being moved from the besieged Azovstal steel plant.
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A video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a wounded Ukrainian soldier receiving treatment in a bus after being moved from the Azovstal steel plant.
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A video released from the Russian Defense Ministry shows Ukrainian servicemen waiting in a bus. The Ukrainian government said it was continuing efforts to complete what it called was the "evacuation" of its fighters from the Azovstal steel plant. It was the last holdout in the southern port city of Mariupol, after around 260 soldiers, some of them wounded, were able to get out of the sprawling complex.
