The Battle of Azovstal ends. After more than a month of siege, the huge steelworks, veritable “city within a city” with its miles of underground galleries, is emptying out. The Ukrainian soldiers surrender their arms. Nearly 300 of them began to be evacuated, late Monday, May 16, and I’rescue operation is still underway Tuesday morning. Follow our live.
Zelensky wants “ssave the lives of our guys”. The soldiers are evacuated to Novoazovsk and Olenivka, two localities in territory controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces, in order to be later “trades”according to a vice-Ukrainian Defense Minister. Dn his video, the Ukrainian president recalled that the priority was to “save the lives of our guys”.
Twenty dead in the East. In Severodonetsk, almost surrounded by forces from Moscow, “at least 10 people were killed” in Russian bombardments, announced the governor of Donbass. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the neighboring region of Donetsk, for his part announced that nine civilians had been killed on Monday and 16 others injured.
Leden makes its candidacy for NATO official. “The government has decided to inform NATO of Sweden’s desire to become a member of the alliance”has said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at a press conference. “We are leaving an era to enter a new one”, she added. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and his wife Jenni Haukio are also expected in Sweden on Tuesday.