No Comment on Azovstal
Kyiv reports repelling Russian attacks in the east
05/16/2022 9:34 p.m
According to their own statements, the Kiev military has largely stopped Russian attacks on the Donbass region. They also managed to destroy large Russian ammunition stocks. Kyiv did not want to react to reports of a possible evacuation of Ukrainian fighters from the Azov steelworks.
According to the Ukrainian military, they have largely stopped Russian attack attempts in the east of the country and destroyed several ammunition depots. “By shelling enemy depots stationed in the city of Izyum, the defense forces destroyed large stockpiles of ammunition,” the Ukrainian General Staff said in its situation report.
According to the Kiev military, Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region were repelled everywhere. For example, advances in the direction of Sievjerodonetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Kurakhove and Avdiivka were repelled. North of Kharkiv, the Russian troops went on the defensive and tried to stop the advance of the Ukrainian forces towards the border. The Russians were preparing a new offensive near the small town of Izyum, south of Kharkiv. According to the report, Mariupol continues to be heavily shelled by artillery and air force. “The main enemy efforts in Mariupol are aimed at blocking and destroying our units at the Azovstal plant,” the report said.
The Russian Defense Ministry had previously reported an agreement to evacuate the steel mill. Accordingly, seriously injured Ukrainian fighters were brought out of the factory. They would be taken from the Azovstal compound via a humanitarian corridor to the Russian-controlled city of Novoazovsk, Moscow sources said. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar declined to comment on television so as not to jeopardize the process, she said. “As the process is ongoing, we cannot say what is currently happening.” The government in Kyiv had always demanded that the injured be transferred to the area controlled by Ukraine or to a third country.