KYIV, Ukraine –
More than 260 Ukrainian fighters, including some seriously wounded, were evacuated Monday from a steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol and taken to areas under Russian control, the Ukrainian military said.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 seriously wounded fighters had been taken to a hospital in Novoazovsk, east of Mariupol. Another 211 fighters were evacuated to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor. An exchange would be worked out for his return home, she said.
Malyar said missions are underway to rescue the remaining fighters inside the plant, the last bastion of the resistance in the devastated southern port city.
“Thanks to the defenders of Mariupol, Ukraine gained critically important time to form reserves and regroup forces and receive help from partners,” he said. “And they fulfilled all their tasks. But it is impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the evacuation of fighters from Azovstal to separatist-held territory was to save their lives. He said the “severely injured” were receiving medical help.
“Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes to be alive. It is our principle,” she said. “The work continues to bring the boys home, and it takes finesse and time.”
Defenders of the steel plant came out as Moscow suffered another diplomatic setback in its war with Ukraine, with Sweden joining Finland in the decision to seek NATO membership. And Zelenskyy congratulated the soldiers who reportedly pushed Russian forces close to the border.
Earlier Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced an agreement for the wounded to leave the steelworks for treatment in a city held by pro-Moscow separatists.
After dark on Monday, several buses left the steelworks accompanied by Russian military vehicles.
There was no immediate word on whether the wounded would be considered prisoners of war.
Russian forces struck targets in the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine known as Donbas, and the death toll, already in the many thousands, continued to rise as the war enters its 12th week on Wednesday.
The eastern city of Sievierdonetsk was subjected to heavy shelling that killed at least 10 people, said Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Lugansk region. In the Donetsk region, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook that nine civilians were killed in the shelling.
As many as nine explosions were heard west of Lviv, in western Ukraine, and the night sky lit up with an orange glow in the distance. There was no immediate word on what was hit.
But Ukrainian troops have also advanced as Russian forces have withdrawn from around the northeastern city of Kharkiv in recent days. Zelenskyy thanked the soldiers who reportedly pushed all the way to the Russian border in the Kharkiv region for symbolic gain.
The video showed Ukrainian soldiers carrying a pole that resembled a Ukrainian border marker with blue and yellow stripes. He was then placed on the ground while a dozen soldiers posed next to him, including one with bullet belts over one shoulder.
“I am very grateful to him, on behalf of all Ukrainians, on behalf of myself and my family,” Zelenskyy said in a video message. “I am very grateful to all the fighters like you.”
The Ukrainian border service said the video showing the soldiers was from the border “in the Kharkiv region” but gave no further details, citing security reasons. The exact location could not be immediately verified.
Ukrainian border guards said they also stopped a Russian attempt to send sabotage and reconnaissance troops into the Sumy region, about 90 miles (146 kilometers) northwest of Kharkiv.
Russia has been plagued by setbacks in the war, most evidently in its early failure to take the capital of kyiv. Much of the fighting has moved into the Donbas, but it has also become hard work, with both sides fighting town by town.
Howitzers from the US and other countries have helped kyiv hold out or gain ground against Russia, a senior US defense official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the US military assessment. The US said Ukraine had pushed Russian forces within a half-mile to 2.5 miles (1 to 4 kilometers) of Russia’s border, but could not confirm whether it went all the way. to the border
The official said long-range Russian strikes also appeared to target a Ukrainian military training center in Yavoriv, near the Polish border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The international response to the Russian invasion accelerated.
Sweden’s decision to seek NATO membership followed a similar decision by neighboring Finland in a historic shift for the countries, which have been out of alignment for generations.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said her country would be in a “vulnerable position” during the application period and urged her fellow citizens to prepare.
“Russia has said that it will take countermeasures if we join NATO,” he said. “We cannot rule out that Sweden is exposed, for example, to misinformation and attempts to intimidate and divide us.”
But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a NATO member, raised his objection to their joining. He accused the countries of not taking a “clear” stance against Kurdish militants and other groups Ankara considers terrorists, and imposing military sanctions on Turkey.
He said Swedish and Finnish officials expected in Turkey next week shouldn’t bother coming if they intend to try to convince Turkey to drop its objection.
“How can we trust them?” Erdogan asked at a joint press conference with the visiting Algerian president.
All 30 current NATO members must agree to allow the Nordic neighbors to join.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow “has no problem” with Sweden or Finland when they apply for NATO membership, but that “the expansion of the military infrastructure on this territory will, of course, lead to our reaction in response”.
Putin launched the invasion on February 24 in what he said was an effort to check NATO expansion, but saw that strategy backfire. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the membership process for both could be quick.
Europe is also working to cut off the Kremlin’s war funding by cutting the billions of dollars it spends on Russian energy imports. A proposed EU embargo faces opposition from some countries dependent on Russian imports, including Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Bulgaria also has reservations.
Also Monday, McDonald’s said it has begun selling its business in Russia, ending a relationship that has lasted more than three decades. Citing the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, he noted that staying in Russia “is no longer sustainable or consistent with McDonald’s values.” The company was the first fast food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union.
McQuillan reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov and Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Elena Becatoros in Odessa, and other AP employees around the world contributed.
Reference-www.ctvnews.ca