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Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday that 959 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered this week to the last stronghold of the besieged city of Mariupol.
A Russian defense ministry spokesman told reporters that 694 soldiers had surrendered in the past 24 hours.
Ukrainian officials have not confirmed the figures. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said on Monday that more than 260 fighters had left the wreckage of the Azovstal steel plant and surrendered to Russian forces, which was in line with Russian figures.
Russia called this a mass surrender. While the Ukrainians said that their garrison had completed its mission.
“The aim was for our boys, who heroically defended the city and stopped the enemy in Mariupol, not to allow Russian troops to pass through Mariupol,” Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko told the Ukrainian-language Voice of America Service. “They saved the nation, they allowed the Ukrainian Armed Forces to prepare and other cities to prepare more for this terrible war that had already engulfed Ukraine.” he added.
It is not clear what will happen to the surrendered Ukrainian fighters. A Russian official cast doubt on the possibility of a large-scale prisoner exchange.
The conquest of Mariupol, a city along the northern shore of the Sea of Azov that had 430,000 inhabitants before the war, would be Moscow’s biggest success in its nearly three-month offensive against Ukraine.
But Russia is struggling to occupy more territory in eastern Ukraine and has failed to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government or take over the country’s capital, Kiev.
Ukraine estimates that 20,000 civilians have been killed in bombings that have left much of the city of Mariupol in ruins. What is left of it lies between Russian territory and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that it was “difficult to know” what the cessation of hostilities in Mariupol meant.
“We have talked at length about the importance of Mariupol as a major economic port on the Sea of Azov and its geographical importance for the fighting in the east.” said Mr. Kirby.
He added that Russia has a clear intention “to encircle and occupy the Donbas and the eastern part of the country”, but that “they have not achieved their goal”.
NATO enlargement
Sweden and Finland submitted their applications for NATO membership on Wednesday in Brussels, where the ambassadors of both countries met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“This is a good day at a critical time for our security.” Stoltenberg told reporters. “Thank you very much for submitting the applications of Finland and Sweden for NATO membership. Each country has the right to choose its own path. “You both made your choice after full democratic processes and I warmly welcome the requests of Finland and Sweden to join NATO.”
This is a reaction to the Russian attack on Ukraine and constitutes a major change for both Sweden and Finland, which have long stayed out of such alliances.
Their requests must be approved by the 30 NATO member states. Turkey, a NATO member, has expressed opposition to the two countries joining the Western military alliance. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Sweden and Finland of harboring “terrorists” and imposing sanctions on Turkey.
Discussions on Turkey’s position will continue on Wednesday as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken receives Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in a New York meeting.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Tuesday that after talks with NATO allies there is a “strong consensus” on the accession of Sweden and Finland and that “we are confident we will be able to maintain this.” consensus ”.
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