KYIV, UKRAINE -- The regiment that doggedly defended a steel mill as Ukraine's last stronghold in the port city of Mariupol completed its mission Monday after more than 260 fighters, including some badly wounded, were evacuated and taken to areas under Russia鈥檚 control, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the evacuation to separatist-controlled territory was done to save the lives of the fighters who endured weeks of Russian assaults in the maze of underground passages below the hulking Azovstal steelworks. He said the 鈥渉eavily wounded鈥� were getting medical help.
鈥淯kraine needs Ukrainian heroes to be alive. It鈥檚 our principle,鈥� he said. An unknown number of fighters stayed behind to await other rescue efforts.
The steel mill鈥檚 defenders got out as Moscow suffered another diplomatic setback in the war, with Sweden joining Finland in deciding to seek NATO membership. And Ukraine made a symbolic gain when its forces reportedly pushed Russian troops back to the Russian border in the Kharkiv region.
Still, Russian forces pounded targets in the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, and the death toll, already many thousands, kept climbing with the war set to enter its 12th week on Wednesday.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 seriously wounded fighters were taken from the Azovstal plant to a hospital in Novoazovsk, east of Mariupol. An additional 211 fighters were evacuated to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor. She said an exchange would be worked out for their return home.
鈥淢ariupol鈥檚 defenders have fully accomplished all missions assigned by the command," she said.
Officials also planned to keep trying to save the fighters who remained inside. Military experts generally put the number of fighters at the plant at anywhere from a few hundred to 1,000.
鈥淭he work to bring the guys home continues, and it requires delicacy and time," Zelenskyy said.
Before Monday's evacuations from the steelworks began, the Russian Defence Ministry announced an agreement for the wounded to leave the mill for treatment in a town held by pro-Moscow separatists. There was no immediate word on whether the wounded would be considered prisoners of war.
After nightfall Monday, several buses pulled away from the steel mill accompanied by Russian military vehicles. Maliar later confirmed that the evacuation had taken place.
鈥淭hanks to the defenders of Mariupol, Ukraine gained critically important time to form reserves and regroup forces and receive help from partners,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they fulfilled all their tasks. But it is impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means.鈥�
The Ukrainian General Staff also said on Facebook that the Mariupol garrison has completed its mission. The commander of the Azov Regiment, which led the defence of the plant, said in a prerecorded video message released Monday that the regiment鈥檚 mission had concluded, with as many lives saved as possible.
鈥淎bsolutely safe plans and operations don鈥檛 exist during war," Lt. Col. Denis Prokopenko said, adding that all risks were considered.
Elsewhere in the Donbas, the eastern city of Sievierdonetsk came under heavy shelling that killed at least 10 people, said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region. In the Donetsk region, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook that nine civilians were killed in shelling.
The western Ukrainian city of Lviv was rocked by loud explosions early Tuesday. Witnesses counted at least eight blasts accompanied by distant booms, and the smell of burning was apparent some time later. An Associated Press team in Lviv, which was under an overnight curfew, said the sky west of the city was lit up by an orange glow.
The chairman of the Lviv Regional Military Administration said the Russians fired on military infrastructure in the Yavoriv district. The city of Yavoriv is less than 15 kilometres from the Polish border.
Ukrainian troops also advanced as Russian forces pulled back from around the northeastern city of Kharkiv in recent days. Zelenskyy thanked the soldiers who reportedly pushed them all the way to the Russian border in the Kharkiv region.
Video showed Ukrainian soldiers carrying a post that resembled a Ukrainian blue-and-yellow-striped border marker. Then they placed it on the ground while a dozen of the soldiers posed next to it, including one with belts of bullets draped over a shoulder.
鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful to you, on behalf of all Ukrainians, on my behalf and on behalf of my family," Zelenskyy said in a video message. "I鈥檓 very grateful to all the fighters like you.鈥�
The Ukrainian border service said the video showing the soldiers was from the border 鈥渋n the Kharkiv region,鈥� but would not elaborate, citing security reasons. It was not immediately possible to verify the exact location.
Ukrainian border guards said they also stopped a Russian attempt to send sabotage and reconnaissance troops into the Sumy region, some 146 kilometres northwest of Kharkiv.
Russia has been plagued by setbacks in the war, most glaringly in its failure early on to take the capital of Kyiv. Much of the fighting has shifted to the Donbas but also has turned into a slog, with both sides fighting village-by-village.
Howitzers from the U.S. and other countries have helped Kyiv hold off or gain ground against Russia, a senior U.S. defence official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the U.S. military assessment, said Ukraine has pushed Russian forces to within 1 to 4 kilometres of Russia鈥檚 border but could not confirm if it was all the way to the frontier.
Away from the battlefield, Sweden's decision to seek NATO membership followed a similar decision by neighbouring Finland in a historic shift for the counties, which were nonaligned for generations.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said her country would be in a 鈥渧ulnerable position鈥� during the application period and urged her fellow citizens to brace themselves.
鈥淩ussia has said that that it will take countermeasures if we join NATO,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e cannot rule out that Sweden will be exposed to, for instance, disinformation and attempts to intimidate and divide us.鈥�
But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a NATO member, ratcheted up his objection to their joining. He accused the countries of failing to take a 鈥渃lear鈥� stance against Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara considers terrorists, and of imposing military sanctions on Turkey.
He said Swedish and Finnish officials who are expected in Turkey next week should not bother to come if they intend to try to convince Turkey of dropping its objection.
鈥淗ow can we trust them?鈥� Erdogan asked at a joint news conference with the visiting Algerian president.
All 30 current NATO members must agree to let the Nordic neighbours join.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow 鈥渄oes not have a problem鈥� with Sweden or Finland as they apply for NATO membership, but that 鈥渢he expansion of military infrastructure onto this territory will of course give rise to our reaction in response.鈥�
Putin launched the invasion on Feb. 24 in what he said was an effort to check NATO鈥檚 expansion but has seen that strategy backfire. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the membership process for both could be quick.
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McQuillan reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov and Andrea Rosa in Kharkiv, Elena Becatoros in Odesa and other AP staffers around the world contributed.
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