Muristek
Pokrovsk (Ukraine), May 21
In what would be its biggest victory yet in the war with Ukraine, Russia has claimed to have captured Mariupol after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin, with over 20,000 civilians feared dead.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin the "complete liberation" of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol — the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance — and the city as a whole, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Friday.
There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine.
Biden okays $40 Bn for Ukraine
US President Biden on Saturday signed a legislation to support Ukraine with an additional $40 billion in US assistance as the Russian invasion approaches its fourth month Biden signed the measure under unusual circumstances. Because he's in the middle of a trip to Asia, a US official brought the Bill on a commercial flight to Seoul for the President to sign, according to a White House official The funding is intended to support Ukraine through September, and it dwarfs an earlier emergency measure that provided $13.6 billion. APRussia's state news agency quoted the ministry as saying a total of 2,439 Ukrainian fighters who had been holed up at the steelworks had surrendered since Monday, including over 500 on Friday.
As they surrendered, the troops were taken prisoner by the Russians, and at least some were taken to a former penal colony. Others were said to be hospitalised. The defence of the steel mill had been led by Ukraine's Azov Regiment. Russia said the Azov commander was taken away from the plant in an armored vehicle.
The Russian authorities have threatened to investigate some of the steel mill's defenders for war crimes and put them on trial, branding them "Nazis" and criminals. That has stirred international fears about the fate of the surrendered troops. — AP
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