“Mariupol will soon be entirely in Russian hands”

While 265 Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal became prisoners on Tuesday, May 17, can we say that the strategic port of Mariupol is in Russian hands? “All the Ukrainian fighters have not yet surrendered, the negotiations are difficult, because there were in Azovstal in particular the fighters of the Azov battalion, the sworn enemy of Russia”, reports Luc Lacroix, live from Donetsk (Donbass). “Tonight, we realize that despite their exceptional resistance, the Ukrainian fighters ended up losing this battle of Azovstal”, says the journalist.

Mariupol will soon be entirely in Russian hands, an important symbol for them, which “suffering setbacks further north”, explains Luc Lacroix. The fate of these fighters is in question. “Ukraine is talking about an exchange, but is Vladimir Putin ready to make this concession? The most seriously injured were hospitalized on the pro-Russian separatist side, but when we arrived there, the chief doctor told us that ‘they had been evacuated elsewhere, and at this time, no one knows exactly where they are’, concludes Luc Lacroix.