Alyona Mazurenko – Friday, 20 May 2022, 21:52
Russian Ministry of Defence states that all Ukrainian fighters have been evacuated from Azovstal as of May 20: a total of 2,439 defenders of Ukraine. Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on this matter.
Source: Russian pro-Kremlin media RIA Novosti
Details: Russian Ministry of Defence stated that 2,439 Azov fighters and other Ukrainian defenders encircled the territory of Azovstal have “laid down their arms and surrendered” during the operation since May 16.
At the same time, Russian aggressors call the Ukrainian defenders “nazis.”
531 defenders allegedly left Azovstal on May 20.
Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the completion of the operation and the “liberation” of the entire Azovstal and the city of Mariupol from Ukrainian defenders.
The aggressors reported that “the plant’s bunkers have now come under the full control of the Russian armed forces.”
In addition, Russia said that the “Azov” commander was taken out of the steelworks in a special armoured car because allegedly “Mariupol residents hate him and desire to finish him off.”
Background:
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the operation for the safe evacuation of the Mariupol defenders had been carried out with the participation of Western partners. The details of this operation were not disclosed to the public.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the evacuation from Azovstal was almost complete.
Azov fighters have been leaving the bunkers of the Azovstal plant since 16 May: the seriously wounded were taken to the hospitals in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (CADLR), and others have been detained and interrogated by the Russians. The fate of the fallen heroes is unknown.
The Ukrainian party barely gives any comments regarding the rescue operation for the Mariupol garrison. The authorities only confirmed the order to save the lives of military personnel besieged by the Russians at Azovstal steelworks.
Denys Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov National Guard Regiment of Ukraine, reported that the severely wounded fighters from the “Azovstal” plant had received medical care and would be taken to the territory controlled by Ukraine, and that “the process is ongoing” regarding the deceased defenders of Mariupol.
Mariupol has been under siege by Russian troops since March 1. Since the end of April, the defenders of Mariupol have been encircled at the Azovstal steelworks: representatives of the Azov National Guard Regiment, marines, border guards, and police. They asked the world for rescue: the Marines requested an “extraction” operation, and “Azov” fighters asked to at least evacuate wounded soldiers.
