Zelenskyy on rescue from Azovstal: Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive

Alyona Mazurenko - Tuesday, 17 May 2022, 00:21

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military along with the negotiating team, ICRC and UN, Ukraine has undertaken a rescue operation aimed at saving the military personnel from Azovstal. 221 servicemen were taken to the territory temporarily occupied by Russia for further exchange. 53 seriously wounded soldiers had been taken to a hospital located in CADLR (certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions).

Source: Presidential video address

Quote: "[It was] a difficult day. But this day, like all others, is aimed precisely at saving our country and our people. [...] Thanks to the actions of the Ukrainian military - the Armed Forces of Ukraine, intelligence, the negotiating team, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations, we hope that we will be able to save the lives of our fellows.

I want to emphasise: Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive. This is our principle. I think that every reasonable person will understand these words."

Details: The President stated that the operation to rescue the defenders of Mariupol was launched by Ukrainian military and intelligence officers: "The work continues to bring the boys home, and this work requires delicacy. And time."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy added that Ukraine maintains maximum diplomatic activity in other areas to secure the interests of Ukraine.

Background

• On 16 May, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that an agreement had been reached regarding the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
• Later, the commander of the Azov Regiment, Denys Prokopenko, stated that the defenders of Mariupol had completed their task and that he wanted to save the lives of his subordinates.
• In the evening, Reuters reported that buses carrying Ukrainian military personnel had left the territory of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the evacuation of 53 severely wounded soldiers had started on 16 May. They had been taken to a medical facility in Novoazovsk (in CADLR - Certain Areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions).

Another 211 defenders had been evacuated to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor and then returned to territory under Ukraine’s control via an exchange procedure.