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Kremlin declares victory in Mariupol

From Michael Powell IN KYIV

RUSSIA declared victory in the devastated port city of Mariupol yesterday as the last of Ukraine’s indomitable fighters surrendered.

Ending an extraordinary twomonth siege at the Azovstal steel plant, the Ukrainian heroes laid down their weapons and emerged exhausted from the warren of tunnels to become prisoners of war.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said commanders at Azovstal had been ordered to surrender to ‘save their lives’ – and they had reluctantly obeyed.

Despite that, their defiance against the might and brutality of Vladimir Putin’s military has inspired Ukraine and prevented Russian forces from being diverted to support units fighting elsewhere on the frontline.

Announcing that Mariupol was ‘completely liberated’, Russia’s defence ministry said the final 531 Ukrainian troops had left the industrial site – a massive Soviet-era facility covering four square miles.

Video footage emerged of Russian troops forcing captured Azov fighters to strip and show their tattoos. The Kremlin claims many of those fighting for Ukraine are neo-Nazis.

Moscow said it was holding 2,439 prisoners of war from Azovstal. Senior figures in Russia want to put them on trial for war crimes, but there are frantic international negotiations to arrange a huge prisoner exchange.

Mr Zelensky said the leaders of France, Turkey, Israel and Switzerland were involved, pledging: ‘We will bring them home.

This is what we must do together with our partners who have taken up responsibility.’

During a TV interview with his wife Olena, their first together since Russia’s invasion in February, Mr Zelensky raised the prospect of peace talks with Putin.

‘The war will be bloody, it will be full of battles,’ he said. ‘Though the end will definitely be in diplomacy, because there are some things that we will not be able to finish other than at the negotiating table.’

Recalling her emotions on the day the invasion began on February 24, Olena Zelenska said: ‘I remember waking up from the strange sounds outside the window, like everyone else. It was dark, it was almost night then.

‘I look and Volodymyr is not around. I went to the next room and found him. He was dressed in a suit, but without a tie. I asked what was going on. He said just, “It has begun.”’

Experts say the fall of Mariupol will free Russian troops to join battles elsewhere on the frontline, particularly in the Luhansk region where Ukrainian forces are already suffering heavy losses.

Putin may also decide to push west along the coast to the port of Odesa and even further towards the pro-Russian breakaway state of Transnistria in Moldova.

In other developments, Russia imposed sanctions on almost 1,000 US citizens, including President Joe Biden, tech tycoon Mark Zuckerberg and actor Morgan Freeman. They are all banned from entering Russia.

Mr Biden promised £32billion of new funding for Ukraine’s war effort, and Putin turned off Russia’s gas taps to Finland after it said it would apply to join Nato.

‘Ordered to surrender to save their lives’

War In Ukraine: Day 87

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2022-05-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://mailonline.pressreader.com/article/281891596888032

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