More Ukrainian fighters surrender in Mariupol, Russia says

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Kyiv / Mariupol—Moscow said nearly 700 Ukrainian fighters surrendered as Russia’s Mariupol made significant profits in the South. Meanwhile, the United States has become the latest Western nation to reopen its embassy in Kieu.

Ukraine has ordered the Garrison Army in Mariupol to evict, but the end result of decades of the bloodiest battles in Europe remains unresolved.

According to local news agency DNA, Denis Pushilin, the leader of the pro-Russian separatist who controls the region, is the best Ukrainian fighter in the last position at the port city of Azovstal Iron and Steel. The commander is still in the factory. Wednesday.

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Ukrainian officials refused to publicly comment on the fate of the fighter.

“The state is making every effort to carry out the rescue of our service personnel,” military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzaynik said at a news conference. “Information to the general public can endanger the process.”

Ukraine confirmed the surrender of more than 250 fighters on Tuesday, but did not say how many were inside.

Russia said Wednesday that another 694 fighters surrendered, bringing the total to 959. The Pentagon has posted a video about a Ukrainian fighter being treated in a hospital after surrendering at Azofustari.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Red Cross and the United Nations have participated in the talks, Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko said, but did not provide details.

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Mariupol’s is the largest city Russia has ever occupied, allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to claim a rare victory in the invasion that began on February 24th.

Moscow focused on the southeast with recent attacks after withdrawing from Kyiv. There, he said the United States resumed operations at the embassy on Wednesday as a sign of further normalization.

“The Ukrainians … defended their hometown in the face of Russia’s ruthless invasion, and as a result, the Star-Spangled Banner is flying over the embassy again,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. rice field.

At first, a small number of diplomats will return to duty, but the consulate will not resume operations soon, according to embassy spokesman Daniel Langenkamp. The US Senate later approved veteran diplomat Bridget Brink as Ukrainian ambassador, filling a post that had been vacant for three years.

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Canada, the United Kingdom and others have recently resumed operations at their embassies.

Moscow states that it is engaged in “special military operations” to demilitarize and “demilitarize” its neighbors. The West and Kyiv call it a false excuse for aggression.

NATO application

Finland and Sweden formally applied for NATO membership on Wednesday. This is a decision triggered by the invasion of Ukraine and just such an expansion cited by Putin as the reason for attacking Ukraine.

NATO’s US Ambassador to the United States, Julian Smith, called for a rapid accession process that could be “complete in a few months,” but NATO member Turkey said its approval was “terrorists,” or Kurdish militants. He said it depends on the return of the Fethullah Gulen followers.

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Finland and Sweden were both military non-aligned during the Cold War.

Russia threatened retaliation against the plan, but President Putin said on Monday that NATO accession would not be an issue unless the alliance sent more troops and weapons there.

But Russia could cut off gas supplies to Finland this week, said Finnish state-owned energy provider Gasum.

The European Commission has announced plans for € 210 billion ($ 220 billion) for Europe to end Russia’s dependence on oil, gas and coal by 2027.

Meanwhile, Google has become the latest major Western company to withdraw from Russia, saying it had to shut down after a local unit filed for bankruptcy and its bank account was seized.

Donbus attack

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At the forefront of the battle, Russian troops forced a major attack and sought to occupy more territory in the eastern Donbus region, which Moscow claims on behalf of the separatists.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksii Arrestovich said Ukrainian saboteurs had blown up the railroad tracks in front of an armored train carrying Russian troops in the occupied southern city of Melitopol.

“We didn’t blow up the armored train itself, but the factions got it,” he said in a video posted on social media, with a previous statement from the Ukrainian territorial defense forces that the train was blown up. It was a contradiction.

Arrestvic said the case showed that the partisan movement was actively confusing Russian troops.

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The occupation of Mariupol, the main port of Donbus, gave Moscow complete control of the uninterrupted territory that straddles the Sea of ​​Azov and the east and south of Ukraine.

The governor of the Luhansk region, which is part of Donbus, said there were many attacks there.

“Most of today’s bombardments took place in Severodonetsk and nearby villages … Russians are still trying to cut the’road of life’through the center of the Luhansk region, which connects Lysychans’k and Bakmut.” I wrote in the telegram. ($ 1 = 0.9550 euros)

(Reports by Natalia Ginets and Max Hander of Kyiv, Reuters journalists in Mariupol’s, additional reports by Reuters Bureau, written by Costas Pitas and Stephen Coates, edited by Rosalva O’Brien and Richard Pulin)