/ 18 May 2022

Ukraine surrenders in Mariupol

Image source: Getty
Image source: Getty

THE SQUIZ

After resisting a fierce, almost 3-month-long siege in the strategic port city, Ukraine has surrendered control of the Azovstal steelworks to Russia in its most significant defeat of the war. Ukraine’s military declared that it completed its “combat mission” in the city and hundreds of people have been evacuated and bussed to Russian-controlled territory. They’ll eventually be brought home in exchange for captured Russian soldiers in a deal brokered by the Red Cross and others. President Volodymyr Zelensky declared it a “difficult day” but added “Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Russian Defence Ministry said that a ceasefire had been established to allow the wounded Ukrainian servicemen to get out, according to Russian state media. It showed video of around 10 buses leaving the steel plant, with reports saying some appeared to be ambulances. Ukraine’s government said that 53 seriously injured people were evacuated to a medical facility in Novoazovsk, and another 211 were moved to Olenivka – both are under Russian control. Many civilians had already been evacuated from the plant a fortnight ago, helped by Red Cross workers to crawl over rubble and climb out to safety. Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar credited the “defenders of Mariupol” for keeping Russian forces busy, giving her country critical time to regroup for the larger war effort.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The victory in Mariupol clears Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s bid to create a land bridge between the Crimean peninsula and areas it controls in the nation’s east. And it’s evidence that the war rolls on amid predictions from NATO that Russia’s war effort had stalled. Britain’s most senior military officer Admiral Sir Tony Radakin says that Ukraine is winning the war and its future as an independent country is guaranteed. And a Ukrainian counterattack in recent days has driven Russian forces out of the area near Kharkiv, the biggest city in the northeast. Peace talks between the 2 countries have stalled, with Ukraine accusing Russia of abandoning its own rules and timetable for discussions. Moscow’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko hit back, saying Ukraine had “practically withdrawn from the negotiating process.” Both sides have previously insisted that they’re still open to a negotiating end to the fighting.

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