
The Ukrainian authorities says it’s persevering with efforts to finish the evacuation of its fighters from the Azovstal metal plant, the final stronghold within the southern metropolis of Mariupol, after round 260 troopers, a few of them wounded, have been in a position to get out of the sprawling advanced.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk mentioned on Could 17 that Ukraine was engaged on “additional phases” of the evacuation of fighters, writing in a publish on Telegram that “God keen, all the pieces might be advantageous.”
She didn’t give any additional particulars of the operation.
Ukraine’s Protection Ministry mentioned 264 Ukrainian fighters — together with 53 who have been “severely wounded” — have been ferried out of the plant on Could 16 and brought to Russia-controlled territory and that efforts have been below approach to evacuate these nonetheless inside.
Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned 256 Ukrainian fighters had “laid down their arms and surrendered,” together with 51 gravely wounded.
Ukrainian Deputy Protection Minister Hanna Malyar mentioned 53 badly wounded troopers have been taken to a hospital in Novoazovsk, whereas one other 211 have been evacuated by way of a humanitarian hall to the city of Olenivka. Each areas are managed by Kremlin-backed separatists.
Months of Russian bombardment decreased Mariupol to rubble and killed 1000’s of civilians earlier than Ukraine ceded management of the strategic Sea of Azov port, the place a whole lot of troops and civilians had been holed up for weeks in underground bunkers within the sprawling Azovstal industrial advanced.
“The ‘Mariupol’ garrison has fulfilled its fight mission,” the Common Workers of Ukraine’s armed forces mentioned in an announcement on Could 17.
“The supreme navy command ordered the commanders of the items stationed at Azovstal to save lots of the lives of the personnel…. Defenders of Mariupol are the heroes of our time,” the assertion added.
In his nightly video tackle, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned late on Could 16 that Ukrainian navy and intelligence negotiators in addition to the Purple Cross and the United Nations orchestrated the evacuation.
“Ukraine wants its heroes alive,” Zelenskiy mentioned.
Nonetheless, he warned that the Ukrainian fighters is probably not freed instantly, including that negotiations over their launch would require “delicacy and time.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned on Could 17 that Ukrainian fighters who “surrendered” can be handled “in accordance with worldwide requirements,” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had assured this.
The Russian Protection Ministry earlier introduced an settlement for the wounded to depart the steelworks for therapy in a city held by separatists, whereas Kyiv mentioned the Ukrainian fighters can be exchanged for captured Russian troopers.
Nonetheless, Russia’s TASS information company quoted the speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, as calling the Ukrainian fighters “Nazi criminals” that shouldn’t be exchanged.
One other lawmaker, Leonid Slutsky, mentioned that though Russia had a moratorium on the dying penalty, it ought to “think twice” about capital punishment for the Azov fighters.
The Ukrainian navy management mentioned the Azovstal defenders pressured Moscow to station some 20,000 troops in Mariupol, stopping them from quickly capturing different components of the nation.
Whereas the evacuation of the final Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol marked a defeat for Ukraine, Russia’s bombardment turned the port with a prewar inhabitants of some 400,000 into rubble and rendered it unusable.
British navy intelligence mentioned in its day by day bulletin on Could 17 that Russia’s rising reliance on indiscriminate artillery bombardment within the battle betrayed a restricted capability to precisely determine targets and “an unwillingness to threat flying fight plane routinely past its personal entrance strains.”
The bulletin posted on Twitter mentioned that in one other operational theater, the Chernihiv area north of Kyiv, Russia’s heavy use of artillery destroyed or broken an estimated 3,500 buildings throughout its failed advance towards the Ukrainian capital.
Some 80 p.c of the injury has been brought about to residential buildings, the U.Okay. bulletin mentioned, cautioning that Russia will possible proceed to rely closely on huge artillery bombardment in its try to regain momentum in japanese Ukraine.
The Ukrainian navy mentioned Russia was “persevering with its offensive” within the east of the nation, including “the enemy centered its essential efforts on Donetsk” within the east.
An unnamed Western navy supply quoted by the BBC mentioned that Putin and his navy chief of workers, Common Valery Gerasimov, have been believed to be straight intervening in Russia’s offensive in japanese Ukraine and making choices usually made by extra junior officers.
In the meantime, Sweden on Could 17 signed a proper request to hitch NATO, a day after Stockholm mentioned it might search membership within the 30-member Western navy alliance amid safety issues sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The transfer got here a day after Finland additionally introduced that it was in search of to hitch the alliance.
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