Russia has confirmed that at least 265 Ukrainian soldiers, including some wounded, “surrendered” to the besieged Azovstal steel mill, the only place where Ukrainian warriors remain in that southern port city that is now fully controlled by Moscow.

“In the last 24 hours, 265 fighters laid down their weapons and surrendered, including 51 who were seriously injured“, said the Russian Ministry of Defense in a statement collected by the AFP news agency.

Russian authorities have determined that those in need of medical assistance have been transferred to a hospital in Novoazovsk.

however, the question remains whether there are people left inside the factoryalthough Ukrainian sources suggest so.

“Yesterday the militants of the Azov nationalist unit and the Ukrainian military that intercepted the Azovstal plant in Mariupol surrendered,” said military spokesman Major General Igor Konashénkov, on his part of the morning war.

“All those in need of medical care were sent for hospital treatment in Novoazovsk,” a Russian-controlled town in the self-proclaimed breakaway republic of Donetsk, the spokesman added.

Two hundred soldiers taken from the metallurgical plant after more than two months of siege and nearly three months of Russian military intervention in Ukraine, were carried to Olenivka, near the Russian -controlled city of Donetsk, and the rest to Novoazovsk.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk introduced the nuance that her country continues its work to “save lives” in Azovstal steelworks.

Azovstal: the humanitarian operation continues. To save lives, ”Vereshchuk announced Tuesday in his Telegram account, adding:“ We are working on the next stages of the humanitarian operation.

The Ukrainian minister did not provide further details on the number of soldiers or civilians remaining to be evacuated from steel -making facilities, or how it would be done.

Ukraine: mission accomplished

The Ukrainian story is different. The Army General Staff on Tuesday confirmed that soldiers who fought with Russian military forces at the Azovstal steel mill, in the city of Mariúpol, in the southeast of the country, had fulfilled their mission, after having was able to evacuate more than 200 soldiers from the area.

“The Mariupol garrison has fulfilled its combat mission. The Supreme Military Command has ordered the commanders of the units assigned to Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel” who remain there, ensured by high military command in a statement published on Facebook and reproduced by local agencies.

According to Kyiv, they will all return to controlled territory from Ukraine by exchange of prisoners.

Ukrainian president, Volodomir Zelenski, celebrated in his usual evening video the live release of the military from the industrial plant, although the status of prisoners of war is not recognizeda policy formerly adopted by its officers when they announced the “evacuation” of their troops from Azovstal.

“Thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military, Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence services, negotiating team, International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations, in saving the lives of our boys. These include the seriously wounded., to whom medical assistance is provided, “the president stressed, quoted by Europa Press.

Zelensky stressed that “Ukraine needs the living heroes of Ukraine“.

It is not known how the hypothetical exchange of these soldiers for Russian prisoners of war captured in Ukraine will take place, as agreed by the two countries, for which little details have been given.

“The defenders of Mariupol are the heroes of our time. They will remain forever in history,” said the note speaking about parts of this detachment, which includes elements of “special forces of the ‘Azov’ regime, the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 36th Brigade of the Marine Corps, border guards, police, volunteers and the Mariupol Territorial Defense ”, among others.

For Ukraine to maintain positions in Azovstal prevented Russia’s plans for the rapid capture of the city of Zaporizhia (south) and to reach the administrative borders of regions “such as pro-Russian Donetsk, in the east.

no negotiation

Russian deputy minister Andréi Rudenko confirmed on Tuesday that between Russia and Ukraine there is currently no “any kind” of negotiation.

“Negotiations are not continuing. Ukraine has in fact abandoned the negotiation process,” Rudenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax agency.

Negotiations between the parties they stopped a month and a half agoafter the battle of Mariúpol intensified and images of Bucha were revealed.

The final round of face-to-face talks between delegates from both countries took place in Istanbul on March 29.

After this meeting, the parties suggested timid progress in the negotiations, but the following weeks highlighted that the differences remained irreconcilable, despite the fact that the contacts continued in the format of videoconference.

Source: EFE