“Mariupol cleared of Ukrainian troops”, the announcement from Moscow

The entire urban area of ​​Mariupol has been cleared of Ukrainian troops and men from the Azov battalion, while the remaining Kiev soldiers are locked inside the Azovstal steel mill. This is what the Russian Defense Ministry quoted by the Tass news agency claims, according to which 1,464 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Mariupol. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov further added that Ukrainian forces have lost four thousand men in Mariupol. Read also “The entire urban area of ​​Mariupol has been completely cleared. The other Ukrainian soldiers are currently blocked in the Azovstal metallurgical plant,” the ministry said. “Their only chance to save their lives is to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender,” he added. Just before the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that the elimination of the Ukrainian forces defending Mariupol would mean “the end of negotiations with the Russia”.