[LIVE] War in Ukraine: the fate of hundreds of fighters still uncertain in Azovstal
Members of the Ukrainian forces on a bus after their evacuation from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol arrive at a detention center in Olenivka, Donetsk region, May 17, 2022. REUTERS - ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
On the 84th day of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, this Wednesday, May 18, the evacuation operation of the last Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in the strategic city of Mariupol continued according to President Volodymyr Zelensky who did not specify their number.
Advertisement
Read more
► Moscow has blocked the RFI website, which broadcasts information in fifteen languages including Russian. An alternative URL allows access to the site
in French
and
Russian
.
RFI in Russian is also available on Telegram:
https://t.me/RFI_Ru
via a VPN and in Russia in French via satellite on Hotbird.
► RFI's Russian editorial site broadcasts Ukrainian public radio (in the Ukrainian language) from the
homepage
.
► The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announces the deployment to Ukraine of a team of 42 investigators and experts, the largest mission in terms of personnel ever sent on the ground, to investigate the crimes committed during the Russian invasion.
► In Mariupol, the "evacuation mission" of the soldiers still inside the Azovstal steelworks, the last stronghold of the resistance in this besieged city, "
continues
", affirmed, without specifying the number, the president Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky on his website.
Moscow announced on Tuesday the surrender of 265 Ukrainian fighters, including 51 "
seriously wounded
".
► Finland and Sweden must jointly file their NATO candidacies on Wednesday, the two Nordic countries announced, despite the lingering shadow of a blockage by Turkey.
Times are given in Universal Time (UT)
4:20 am: "The evacuation mission" of Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in Azovstal continues
Ukrainian servicemen sit in a bus after being evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, near a remand center in Olyonivka, in separatist-controlled territory of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. AP - Alexei Alexandrov
In Mariupol, “
the evacuation mission
” of the soldiers still inside the Azovstal steelworks “
continues
”, affirmed, without specifying the number, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his website.
In his daily video, Volodymyr Zelensky looks back on the telephone conversation he had with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.
“
We discussed the negotiation process with Russia and the evacuation of our heroes from Azovstal.
The evacuation mission continues, it is supervised by our military and our intelligence services.
The most influential international mediators are involved
”, explains the Ukrainian president.
Moscow announced on Tuesday the surrender of 265 Ukrainian fighters, including 51 "
seriously wounded
", who had fallen back on this huge steel complex, the last bastion of resistance in this city ravaged by Russian attacks.
Ukraine assured last week that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including 600 wounded, were there.
"
These Ukrainian heroes
" who have "
fulfilled their mission
" will be exchanged for Russian prisoners to allow them to return to the country "
as quickly as possible
", for its part declared the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, indirectly confirming that these men are well in the hands of the Russians.
“
We have taken the decision not to comment as long as the operation is in progress
,” his adviser, Oleksiï Arestovich, told Ukrainian media.
04h00: Hello and welcome to this live
You can find our live yesterday by following
this link
.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Ukraine
Day to day war in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Vladimir Poutine
Defense
On the same subject
WAR IN UKRAINE - DAY 83
The day the ICC sent the largest team of experts in its history to Ukraine