Russia’s defence ministry said that 694 Ukrainian fighters who had been under siege at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol surrendered over the last 24 hours.
The Russians claim that 959 combatants have surrendered in total at Azovstal since Monday, and that 80 of those who surrendered were wounded, of whom 51 have been taken to hospital. The numbers have not been independently verified.
Denis Pushilin, who is head of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, has told local media a court would decide the fate of the Ukrainian fighters who had surrendered at Azovstal.
Russia claims they have killed 270 Ukrainian fighters and “54 units of military equipment were disabled” overnight. They also claim to have shot down two planes and 15 drones.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that there was no movement in peace talks with Ukraine, and claimed that Kyiv was showing a total unwillingness to continue them.
