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Ukrainian defenders emerge from Mariupol ruins

NATALIA ZINETS

MARIUPOL, Ukraine — More than 250 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after weeks of desperate resistance, bringing an end to the most devastating siege of Russia’s war in Ukraine and allowing President Vladimir Putin to claim a rare victory in his faltering campaign.

Reuters saw buses leave the steelworks, where defenders had held out in a complex of bunkers and tunnels, in a convoy escorted by Russian armoured vehicles. Five arrived in the Russian-held town of Novoazovsk, where Moscow said the wounded would be treated.

What will happen to the fighters was unclear. The Kremlin said Putin had personally guaranteed the prisoners would be treated according to international standards.

But a Reuters witness said seven buses carrying Ukrainian fighters from the Azovstal garrison arrived at a former penal colony in the Russian-controlled town of Olenivka near Donetsk.

TASS news agency said a Russian committee planned to question the soldiers, many of them members of the Azov Battalion, as part of an investigation into what Moscow calls “Ukrainian regime crimes”.

The denouement of a battle which came to symbolize Ukrainian resistance took place as Russia’s invading forces struggled elsewhere, with troops retreating from the outskirts of Kharkiv in the northeast.

On the international front, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Sweden and Finland will on Wednesday hand in their respective applications to join NATO, abandoning their long-standing policy of neutrality over concerns about Putin’s wider intentions.

The leaders expressed optimism they could overcome Turkey’s objections to them joining amid a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at smoothing their path into the 30-nation alliance.

Their move will bring about the very expansion of the Western alliance Putin invoked as one of the main justifications for what he terms his “special military operation”.

The complete capture of Mariupol is Russia’s biggest victory since its Feb. 24 invasion and gives Moscow total control of the Sea of Azov coast and an unbroken stretch of eastern and southern Ukraine.

But the port city now lies in ruins, and Ukraine believes tens of thousands of people were killed under months of Russian bombardment and siege.

Russia said at least 256 Ukrainian fighters had “laid down their arms and surrendered”, including 51 severely wounded. Ukraine said 264 soldiers, including 53 wounded, had left.

Obituaries

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2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

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