MARIOUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) – Dozens of Ukrainian fighters, some of whom appear unharmed, surrendered their arms on Tuesday after hiding for weeks in shelters and tunnels at the Azovstal factory in the town of Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army since the beginning of its offensive.
Mariupol, bordering the Sea of Azov separating Russia and Crimea, has been the scene of relentless bombardment by Russian troops since February 24, leaving the port city in ruins and, according to Ukrainian authorities, causing dozens of thousands of deaths.
Ukrainian civilians and fighters had taken refuge in the Azovstal factory, a vast industrial complex dating from the Soviet era that had become the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol against the Russian army.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the surrender of 265 Ukrainian fighters, including 51 seriously wounded who will be treated in Novoazovsk, a pro-Russian separatist city in the Donetsk region.
At least seven buses carrying unarmed Ukrainian fighters left the Azovstal factory on Tuesday under escort of pro-Russian troops, a Reuters reporter said.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian army command announced that the mission to defend the steel plant was over.
We could not immediately determine the fate of these Ukrainian fighters, described as “heroes” by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky but described by Russian parliamentarians as “Nazi criminals”.
The Kremlin said the fighters would be treated in accordance with international rules. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said in a video posted on social media that all of these evacuees are subject to an exchange procedure.
Most of the civilians sheltering in the Azovstal factory have been evacuated over the past few weeks in UN-Red Cross-sponsored operations following an agreement with Moscow and Kyiv.
The loss of Mariupol marks a major setback for Ukraine, after the longest and bloodiest battle since the start of the Russian offensive.
Mariupol had become the symbol both of Ukrainian resistance and of Russia’s determination to destroy the cities standing up to it.
INTENSIVE BOMBING IN THE EAST
On other fronts, Ukrainian fighters have in recent days driven Russian forces from the area near Kharkov, the largest city in the east of the country, but heavy fighting and shelling continue in a large eastern area.
Ukrainian presidential services said on Tuesday that the entire frontline around Donetsk was under constant heavy shelling, while in the Chernihiv region a missile strike on the village of Desna killed and injured many indeterminate people.
Russian forces are strengthening and preparing to relaunch their offensive near Slovyansk and Drobysheve, southeast of the strategic city of Izium, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
Areas around Kyiv and Lviv, near the Polish border, continued to come under Russian fire. A series of explosions hit Lviv early on Tuesday, a Reuters witness said.
In Russia, a village in the western province of Kursk, on the border with Ukraine, was the target of Ukrainian fire on Tuesday, regional governor Roman Starovoit said. Three houses and a school were hit, but there were no injuries, he added.
Reuters could not immediately confirm details of the accounts of the fighting.
Volodimir Zelensky spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday and was also due to speak by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, his office said.
(Reuters editorial; French version Jean Terzian, Kate Entringer, editing by Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Sophie Louet)