The bloodiest battle of the war Ukraine ended in Mariupol on Tuesday, long after the city itself was destroyed, as the Ukrainian military ordered fighters hiding in an iron mill to surrender and dozens of their comrades were evacuated to Russian-held territory aboard bus. decorated with the emblem of the Russian war “Z”.

Ukraine’s decision to end the fighting at the Azovstal steel plant gave Moscow full control over much of the south of Ukraine, extending from the Russian border to the Crimea, while Russian forces appear to be tightening their grip on the parts of the south they occupied early in their invasion.

Although Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine is thickening, events in the south are underscored how much territory did moscow capture and suggests that Ukrainian forces will encounter major challenges when trying to pick it up.

On a dirt road that stretches more than 500 miles (800 km) from Lugansk in the east to Kherson on the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces were building up. defensive positionsinstalling government deputies and taking steps to Russify the population.

In Zaporizka, a region west of Mariupol, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces were destroying roads and bridges to stop Ukrainian counterattacks.

Moscow troops also set up concrete barriers and dug ditches around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in the city of Enerhodar, which Russia seized during the first months of the war, Ukraine’s nuclear power company said.

In the Kherson region, the heart of the country’s agricultureUkrainians have been conducting counterattacks for weeks, slowly trying to reclaim the lost land, but they have not yet launched a major offensive.

However, the Ukrainian forces, supported by the growing flow of heavy weapons of western alliesThey staged intense resistance in other parts of the country, first expelling Russian forces from the capital, kyiv, and in recent days from the northeastern city of Kharkov.

The final result in Mariupol remained difficult to identify, while an unknown number of soldiers remain underground at the steel plant, lumikas pa. They issued a statement saying they were following the order to finish their mission, but it was not clear. when or how they leave.

Other developments:

– Parliament of Finland it voted 188-8 in favor of the country’s application to join NATO. The vote paves the way for the government to formally submit its request, which is likely to happen this week.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has said that expanding the alliance is “not a direct threat to us” but that Russia will respond “based on the threats created.”

– President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkey has reiterated its criticism of Sweden as a haven for Kurdish separatists it considers terrorists, raising doubts whether it will try to block NATO expansion.

– The US Senate ended the debate on the $ 40 billion Ukraine aid package passed by the House last week and is expected to pass this week. It could be signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday.

c.2022 The New York Times Company

ap