The Ministry of Defence met with close family of defenders of Mariupol: told the details of rescue attempts
DENYS KARLOVSKYI - SUNDAY, 15 MAY 2022, 21:15
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian military and political leadership has met with relatives of Mariupol defenders to share details of efforts to save them.
Source: Anna Maliar on air during the national 24/7 newscast
Quote from Maliar: "Yes, indeed, we had an open and very warm conversation, a meeting with the families of our Azovstal defenders.
I will remind you that Azovstal is currently being defended by various units of the Defence Forces: soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the National Police, and border guards.
What is the importance of this meeting? The State is doing a lot to effect the release of our Azovstal defenders, but this is a military operation, and these things cannot be said in public. Instead, we were able to convey this and tell their relatives openly, because they have the right to know about that. And most of the questions - I hope very much - have been removed. Because the proposals that are very often heard in society - in fact, all this has already been done. Putin is simply refusing to release our Azovstal defenders.
If a military operation and a blockade had [been possible] right now, believe me, the Armed Forces would have done it. Instead, various plans are being considered and developed today, but these are military plans, and we cannot announce them."
Details: According to Maliar, she and a number of other officials of the Ministry of Defense, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Yulia Laputina, Deputy Minister of Interior of Ukraine Kateryna Pavlichenko were present at the meeting.
She explained that Ukrainian diplomats had involved leaders from almost all the world's leading countries and all leading international organisations in their diplomatic efforts to release their defenders.
In addition, Maliar noted that the publicity and public appeals of the wives and relatives of the defenders of Mariupol are also making a significant contribution towards the release of Ukrainian heroes from the territory of Azovstal.
Background:
- On 15 May, four wives of Azovstal defenders gave an online conference urging the international community to work to extract the entire garrison, not just the seriously wounded. According to them, there is almost no food, water and medicine left in the underground bunkers of the steelworks.
- After their performance at Eurovision 2022, the soloist of the band Kalush called on the world to save the defenders of Azovstal, after which millions of people began to google the words "Mariupol" and "Azovstal".
- The Defenders of Azovstal ask the world for salvation: Marines ask for "extraction", The Azov Regiment for at least for the evacuation of wounded soldiers.
- Civilians were evacuated from the plant a week ago. But Russia is rejecting all options for evacuating the soldiers, although Turkey is ready to withdraw them by sea and guarantee that they would not fight again as long as the war lasted.
- Ukrainian authorities are negotiating to evacuate at least 60 of the most seriously wounded from Azovstal, although several hundred people need medical care there.
