[LIVE] War in Ukraine: the evacuation operation of Azovstal fighters continues in Mariupol

Buses carrying Ukrainian fighters from the Mariupol Azovstal plant in Novoazovsk on May 16, 2022. REUTERS - ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO

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On the 83rd day of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, this Tuesday, May 17, the Russian offensive in the Donbass intensified in the East in Sievierodonetsk, an important administrative center still under the control of kyiv.

Russia has warned for its part that it would react to NATO's deployments of "

" in Finland and Sweden, candidates for entry into the Atlantic Alliance. 

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► More than 260 Ukrainian fighters, including 53 wounded, were evacuated on Monday from the Azovstal steelworks, the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, announced Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar.

► Sweden will apply to join NATO, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson officially announced on Monday, referring to a new "era" for the Scandinavian country.

► Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian troops and regained control of part of the border with Russia in the Kharkiv region (northeast), Ukrainian authorities announced on Monday.

► The NATO countries will continue to help Ukraine militarily, assured Berlin while Finland announced a "historic" candidacy for the Atlantic Alliance.

Times are given in Universal Time (UT),

04h00: Hello and welcome to this live

You can find our live from yesterday by following

.

04:20: Azovstal fighters have “

”

A rescue operation for Ukrainian fighters from the huge Azovstal steelworks, the last pocket of resistance against the Russian army in the strategic port of Mariupol, was underway on Tuesday according to Kiev, which now considers that these men have "

" their mission .

.

The soldiers of the garrison stationed in Azovstal, of which more than 260 have already been evacuated on Monday, have "

", welcomed the staff of the Ukrainian army in a press release, and order was given to their commanders to " 

 " of those left behind.

“ 

,” explained the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Telegram.

The Ukrainian authorities said last week that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including 600 wounded, were in this industrial complex, a veritable "city within a city" with its kilometers of underground galleries.

They had entrenched themselves there after suffering the siege of Mariupol for more than a month, attacked by the Russian army at the start of the war, which began on February 24, and is now totally devastated.

This city, on the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov, is strategically located between Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014 and the mining region of Donbass where there are two pro-Russian separatist "republics" and where Russia is currently intensifying its offensive.

Some “

 ” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar announced Monday evening in a video.

These two localities are located in territory controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, but the fighters were to be repatriated to territory controlled by Ukraine " 

 ", a she clarified.

The Ukrainian general staff confirmed the evacuation of these 264 soldiers and indicated on the night of Monday to Tuesday that "

 " on the Azovstal site "

 ", without specifying their number.

Their fierce resistance notably prevented the rapid capture by the Russian army of the large Ukrainian city of Zaporijjia, 200 km to the west, according to the general staff.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that it had established a ceasefire around Azovstal, to allow the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers.

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• Ukraine

• Day to day war in Ukraine

• Russia

• Volodymyr Zelensky

• Vladimir Poutine

• Defense

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The day 260 Ukrainian fighters were evacuated from the Azovstal factory by Russia