Monday was the day that the Ukrainian garrison surrendered to Mariupol’s Azovstal steel and ironworks plant.
On March 19, the Russian military issued an ultimatum to the Mariupol defenses. It gave them just hours to surrender the city, and then they had to lay down their arms. They promised them “safe passage” to the garrison. Moscow called them “nationalists”, ‘foreign mercenaries’ and ‘bandits’.
After a three-month-long siege, the garrison was forced into a network of tunnels and bunkers that could withstand a nuclear attack. They were hungry and without food and ammunition and had no other options.
In the underground compound, things got direr. The underground compound was free from antibiotics and anesthesia for surgery and amputations. There were many attempts to find a way out. The Red Cross and the Vatican tried several times, but they couldn’t negotiate safe passage.
A video of Ukrainian combatants leaving the Azovstal plant in Mariupol; most of them carrying their wounded brothers in arms on stretchers.
47.112534, 37.606209https://t.co/f55WDEzMH0 pic.twitter.com/O2O3RwHwwh
— Status-6 (@Archer83Able) May 17, 2022
Ukrainian surrenders of Azovstal pic.twitter.com/jDg9dbrDWP
— spook (@spook_info) May 17, 2022
More footage from Ukrainian POWs leaving the Azovstal plant in Mariupol pic.twitter.com/XoFCDEDiSE
— spook (@spook_info) May 17, 2022
❗️A minimum of 7 buses with the Ukrainian military are now leaving Azovstal – Reuters. pic.twitter.com/i1P7KKtQ1w
— ТРУХА⚡️English (@TpyxaNews) May 17, 2022
A convoy with Ukrainian POWs from Mariupol being escorted by a Russian Mil Mi-24/35 gunship. pic.twitter.com/sOUrnQnbeK
— Status-6 (@Archer83Able) May 17, 2022
Ukrainian POWs from Azovstal arrived in occupied Olenivka, Donetsk oblast.
😧 pic.twitter.com/gzYX7of6zM— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔇𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱 (@TheDeadDistrict) May 17, 2022
Two hundred Ukrainian prisoners were injured and taken to Donetsk. Other prisoners were transferred to Olenivka. According to the terms of surrender, they will be exchanged with a similar number of Russian prisoners.
The men eventually surrendered to the Russians. Gen. George Patton said that Russian officers “giv[ing] the appearance of recently civilized Mongolian bandits.” There are already plans to renege on the prisoner exchanging arrangement.
A video of the evacuation of Ukrainian defenders from Azovstal was shared by Mariupol city administration
52 heavily wounded soldiers were evacuated yesterday. Yesterday, Ukraine apparently surrendered the besieged city after putting up an 82-day fight
🎥https://t.co/9tZkvBcKmP pic.twitter.com/4C9nvv3NkA— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) May 17, 2022
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin says that Azov Battalion members are war criminals who should not be involved in prisoner swaps
Russia’s impending designation of the Azov Battalion as a terrorist group would legally ensconce this policy
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 17, 2022
⚡️Russian parliament will consider a ban on exchanging Azov POWs for captured Russian soldiers, Russian state-controlled RIA Novosti reported.
On May 26, the Russian Supreme Court will consider recognizing the Azov regiment as a terrorist organization.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 17, 2022
Dmitry Peskov claims that Azovstal steel fighters in Mariupol will be treated humanely
Calls for their execution from the Duma suggests otherwise
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 17, 2022
It’s unlikely that anyone who surrendered to the Russians will be able to survive.
The men holding Mariupol did all that was reasonable. They held 20,000 Russian soldiers in South Ukraine for over a month. These units suffered heavy losses and will need extensive reconstruction to regain combat effectiveness.
