The soldiers have been trapped in the Azovstal steelworks for two months and have fought battles, but the government in Kyiv states that they have ordered the evacuation in Mariupol, the British news agency Reuters reported on Tuesday.
- Russia has taken Mariupol.
That is probably the only conclusion you can draw, says Joakim Paasikivi to Aktuellt on Tuesday.
He continues:
- It has been done after hard fighting and where the Ukrainian units bound Russian units that then could not be deployed elsewhere.
It is, however, a propaganda victory for Ukraine, he believes.
- From a Ukrainian perspective, the Ukrainian unit has won a propaganda victory because they are not militarily defeated.
They have been ordered to end the fighting.
But it is a Russian victory.
Now Ukraine wants a prisoner exchange - how should it go?
- You have to negotiate, says Paasikivi.