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Russia has claimed full control of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Moscow's biggest victory in the war to date. More than 20,000 civilians are believed to have died in the coastal city after a nearly three-month siege.
According to the Associated Press, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin of the "complete independence" of the Azov steelworks in Mariupol, the last bastion of the Ukrainian resistance. East.
According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the ministry said a total of 2,439 Ukrainian fighters hiding in the steelworks had surrendered since Monday, including 500 on Friday.
According to the French news agency (AFP), Ukraine on Friday ordered the surrender of its last troops hiding in the Azov steelworks in Mariupol, while Russia said it would take months to seize the strategic port city. The operation is now complete.
According to the AP, as soon as they surrendered, the Russians took them prisoner and at least some of them were taken to a settlement. Others would be hospitalized. The defence of the steel plant was led by the Azov Regiment of Ukraine. Russia said the Azov commander was taken from the factory in an armoured vehicle.
According to AFP, the commander of the Ukrainian Azov regiment, Denis Prokopenko, had said earlier that only the dead remained. "The high command ordered our garrison troops to save their lives and abandon the defence of the city," he said in a video telegram.
"I hope that soon the families of the dead and all of Ukraine will be able to bury their fighters with honour," he said.
According to the AP, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky said on Monday that the troop withdrawal should save the lives of activists.
Earlier this month, hundreds of civilians were evacuated from the factory during a humanitarian ceasefire. A few hours ago, President Volodymyr Zelinsky said the last guards at the steel plant had been told by the Ukrainian military that they could get out and save their lives, according to Reuters.
According to the AP, Russian authorities have threatened to investigate and prosecute some steel mill guards for war crimes. The steelworks, which cover 11 square kilometers (4 square miles), has been the scene of intense fighting for weeks. The government ordered its troops to abandon the defence of the factory and save their lives.
With a complete takeover of Mariupol, Vladimir Putin has won a much-needed victory in the war that began on February 24. Military analysts say the current occupation of Mariupol is largely symbolic, as the city is already effectively under Moscow's control and most of the Russian forces fighting there have already left.
According to the Associated Press, Ukraine's president said on Friday that "Russia must pay the price for every home, school, hospital and business it has destroyed."
He called on Ukraine's allies to seize Russian funds and assets under its jurisdiction and establish a fund to compensate those who suffered losses. "Russia will feel the true weight of every missile, bomb and shell it fired at us," he said in a video message.
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