Defense Minister of RussiaSergei Shoigú, assured today that his armed forces have taken control of the Ukrainian city of Mariupolalthough he admitted that there remains a zone of resistance in the steelworks Azovstalwhose assault has been canceled by the president Vladimir Putin.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the militias of the Donetsk People’s Republic have released Mariupolthe remains of the nationalist formations took refuge in the industrial zone of the plant Azovstal”, Shoigu said in a meeting with Putinbroadcast on public television Rossía 24.
According to the Russian minister, the Ukrainian soldiers and militiamen were just over 8,100 when the siege of Mariupol ended and, of them, “more than 4,000 were annihilated and 1,478 surrendered as prisoners.”
Shoigu added that there are about 2,000 Ukrainian troops left at the plant and it will take three or four days to “finish the job.”
PUTIN CANCELS ASSAULT ON AZOVSTAL
Vladimir Putin today canceled the order to raid the steel mill Azovstal in Mariupolwhere some 2,000 Ukrainian defenders remain armed, with the argument of saving lives, although maintaining the blockade of the industrial zone.
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“I consider the proposed assault on the industrial zone inappropriate. I order to cancel it”the president told Minister Shoigú at that same meeting.
The Kremlin leader maintained that “now we must think even more, if possible, about saving the lives and health of our soldiers and officers (…) There is no need to go into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities.”
But He demanded the closure of that industrial zone “so that not a single fly passes inside or outside”.
UKRAINE ASKS FOR A BROKER FROM THE STEELWORKS
The government of Ukraine has demanded the opening of a humanitarian corridor from the steel mill in Azovstal to evacuate the 1,000 civilians and 500 soldiers who – as has been quantified – support the siege of the Russians.
According to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, “Now there are about 1,000 civilians and 500 soldiers injured. “Everyone must be removed from Azovstal today!”
He also called on his Telegram account “to world leaders and the international community to focus their efforts on Azovstal now.”
The rest of Mariupolon the shores of the Sea of Azov, has been practically destroyed by Russian bombing since the beginning of the invasion of the country, on February 24.
Azovstal is already the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. This is a heavily fortified area. Its facilities, in the southeast of the city, cover an area of eleven square kilometers and have tunnels and underground bunkers that make it difficult to take over.
SÁNCHEZ AND FREDERIKSEN IN kyiv
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, traveled to kyiv today to show support and solidarity with Ukraine and meet with the President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Both arrived by train to the Ukrainian capital from Poland and, protected by security forces, have accessed the vehicle in which they traveled to meet with Zelensky.
Previously, Pedro Sánchez toured some of the streets of the Ukrainian city of Borodianka and was moved by “the horror of war” that he has seen in person.