Over 260 Ukrainian fighters evacuated from Azovstal factory in Mariupol
The Ukrainian authorities announced this evening that more than 260 Ukrainian fighters, who had been entrenched for weeks in the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol, have been evacuated.
In a message posted today, the Azov regiment, which defends this site, seemed to announce this movement of departure from the steelworks
“In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison carried out the order approved by the military command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people”was it written in a message published on social networks. “For 82 days, the defenders of Mariupol carried out orders despite the difficulties, pushed back the overwhelming forces of the enemy and allowed the Ukrainian army to regroup, train more personnel and receive large numbers weapons from partner countries »added the press release, without specifying the content of the orders received.
These messages are broadcast a few hours after the announcement by Russia of a truce in Azovstal in order to evacuate the wounded Ukrainians. The Russian Ministry of Defense has, for its part, declared that the evacuation of the wounded Ukrainian forces from the steelworks has begun. The Russian media RT showed a video of a dozen buses leaving the factory.
The Reuters agency reports that Ukrainian soldiers from the factory have already arrived in the Russian-controlled city of Novoazovsk.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, some 1,000 soldiers, including 600 wounded, were still locked up in the factory after the evacuation of women, children and the elderly at the end of April, thanks to an operation coordinated by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Cross. Red.