Moscow announces tight control of Ukraine's Mariupol
Moscow's Defense Ministry has announced that Russian forces have full control of the Azovstal steel complex and that all Ukrainian fighters holed up there have surrendered, ending a grueling battle for the devastated port city of Mariupol.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that "the complete liberation of the plant and the city of Mariupol" has been achieved, the ministry said, marking one of Russia's biggest victories since its invasion of its neighbor three months ago.
The ministry said the last group of 531 fighters had been captured at the sprawling Azovstal factory.
Mariupol was attacked shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February.
As Russian forces gradually gained control of the strategic city on the Sea of Azov through relentless aerial bombardment and siege, Ukrainian defenders took over the Azovstal Factory, which features a network of tunnels, cellars, and fortified underground rooms.
Earlier on Friday, the "Azov" battalion said that the remaining Ukrainian fighters at the "Azovstal" plant would abandon the defense of the coastal city.
"The army command gave the order to stop the defense of the city," battalion commander Denis Prokopenko said in a video message.
He added that the decision was taken to protect the lives and health of the soldiers.
In what amounted to an admission of defeat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the end of a two-month battle for the last disputed part of Mariupol at the start of the week, clearing the way for Ukrainian forces to be held captive by the Russians.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 2,439 Ukrainian fighters have been captured since May.
Earlier in the day, Shoigu said Russian forces were continuing to advance across Ukraine's Donbass region, where Moscow says the "liberation" of the so-called Luhansk Republic is imminent.
Donbass, where hostilities have intensified in the past few weeks, includes the two self-proclaimed "people's republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk, founded by pro-Russian separatists in 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced that Russia would recognize the two breakaway regions as independent republics of Ukraine shortly before launching his invasion on February 24.
On the other hand, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe announced today, Friday, that it is working to expand the scope of its investigations into human rights violations committed during the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine.
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