Russia has said a further 771 Ukrainian troops have "surrendered" at Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steelworks, bringing the total number to 1,730 fighters this week, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it has started registering the Ukrainian prisoners of war who left the plant this week.
The Russian defence ministry said that 80 soldiers who surrendered in the past day were wounded and were being treated in hospitals in the Russian-held cities of Novoazovsk and Donetsk. Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Wednesday that more than 900 Azovsteel troops had been sent to a former prison colony in the town of Olenivka but it was not immediately clear where the latest group to surrender had gone.
Ukraine has not commented on the evacuation of the soldiers since Tuesday, when Ukraine's deputy defence minister stated that the soldiers would be swapped in a prisoner exchange, without providing further details.
It is also not clear how many soldiers remain inside the plant.
The deputy commander of the Azov regiment, Capt Svyatoslav Palamar, released a video last night in which he said he has not surrendered and that he remained in the steel mill.
"The operation is continuing, I can't give more information now," Palamar said. He did not say how many other fighters were with him.
This story is from the May 20, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the May 20, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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