“Azovstal is ours”, Russia announces victory, the commander leaves in armored car!

Recent Ukrainian soldiers hiding in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol said Kiev had “ordered” them to stop fighting.

For Moscow, the capture of the complex, and consequently of the entire city, marks a symbolic military victory since, during the three-month occupation, it had not been able to occupy any important city in the neighboring country.

“The Supreme Military Command gave the order to save the lives of the soldiers of our garrison and to stop the defense of the city”told the Telegram, the commander of the battalion leading Azovstal soldiers, Denys Prokopenko, who is said to have left in armored vehicles.

“The civilians were evacuated. “The seriously injured were given the necessary assistance and they were evacuated, to be exchanged and brought to the territory controlled by Ukraine.” added Prokopenko.

He stressed “he hopes that in the near future, relatives and Ukraine will be able to bury their soldiers with honor.” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that so far, about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters hiding in the steel plant have surrendered.

Ukrainian officials have not confirmed this number. Soldiers who fled Azovstal, including those wounded, were reportedly transferred to eastern Ukraine, which is under the control of Russian-backed separatists. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said hundreds of Ukrainian fighters who fled the Azovstal factory in Mariupol were registered as prisoners of war.

The Red Cross emphasizes that the registration of combatants as prisoners of war is “important to ensure that they are cared for and treated humanely and with dignity”, as well as to enable the organization to track captives and ‘help them stay in touch with their families.

Kiev has expressed hope that the fighters will be exchanged for Russian prisoners, but Moscow-backed authorities in Donetsk say some of them could be tried.

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