Kremlin: Situation in Azovstal is not evacuation, 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted to attempts by the Kiev authorities to attribute the surrender of Ukrainian soldiers to an evacuation.

“Here, the interpretation and definition are not clear. They surrender and lay down their arms,” ​​the spokesman said in response to a reporter’s question about how the Kremlin views Kiev’s position on the Azovstal situation.

The Ukrainian side said that the army had completed its “combat mission in Mariupol” and that the fighters were being evacuated, indicating the end of the battle at the steel plant.

Russia insists it has reached an agreement to surrender with Ukrainian soldiers entrenched at the steel plant. The Russian side also said that this was not an evacuation, because these Ukrainian soldiers were not moved to Ukraine, but to Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry today announced that 959 fighters have surrendered since May 16. In the past 24 hours alone, 694 soldiers surrendered, of which 80 were wounded. Footage released by the agency shows people walking outside on crutches.

Regarding the negotiations, Mr. Peskov said that there was no movement in peace talks with Ukraine, and Kiev showed an unwillingness to continue. “Negotiations have not progressed and we note that Ukrainian negotiators are completely unwilling to continue this process.”

On May 17, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko as saying that Russia and Ukraine did not conduct discussions of any kind and that Kiev had in fact pulled out of the negotiation process.