Once a day, NU.nl gives you an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: Dozens of wounded Ukrainian soldiers in the Azovstal factory were evacuated to Russian territory on Monday and the Azov regiment left behind seems to hint at a surrender. Sweden is going to apply for NATO membership definitively, but Turkey threatens to be obstructive.
According to Russia, 51 wounded soldiers have been evacuated from the steel factory in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol. They are said to have been taken to Novoazovsk, a town close to the Russian border, during a truce. This has not yet been confirmed by Ukraine. The British news agency Reuters talked about a dozen buses with soldiers, without further details.
The Azov regiment appeared to be hinting at a possible impending surrender on Monday, it reported Reuters† “In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison will listen to the decision of the military command and we hope for the support of the Ukrainian population,” the regiment said on social media. It is not clear whether this decision represents a total surrender.
Despite the harsh conditions of the military and the continuous attacks on the factory, a surrender seemed unthinkable before. A week ago, an officer of the regiment announced that the soldiers will fight to the end. Earlier this month, all women, children and the elderly were already evacuated.
Swedish government to apply for NATO membership
Sweden’s government is officially asking to join NATO. The request had been in the air for some time. The Swedish decision has major consequences for the military balance of power in Europe. NATO has promised the northern European country a quick and smooth accession.
On Sunday, the social-democratic ruling party already gave the green light for the membership application. On Monday, the Swedish parliament also gave its approval. The official application is expected to be submitted this week.
Turkey opposes NATO accession Sweden and Finland
Turkey just doesn’t seem to be ready to approve Sweden and Finland’s possible accession to NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. His country has been a member of the Western Military Alliance since 1952, whose 30 member states must unanimously approve new members.
Erdogan said last week that he was “not positive” about a possible NATO membership of Sweden and Finland. Turkey accuses those countries of hosting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a guerrilla war in Turkey for decades.
Ten civilians killed in rocket attack in eastern Ukraine
Ten civilians were killed in a rocket attack in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk on Monday, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said. According to him, the city has been under fire for a long time by Russian troops. Fires broke out in several neighborhoods as a result of bombings.
Severodonetsk is located in an area that the Russian invasion forces and rebel pro-Russian Ukrainians want to capture from the Ukrainian armed forces. The city has been the administrative center of the Luhansk region since the regional capital Luhansk came under separatist control in 2014.
Ukrainian troops reach the Russian border from Kharkiv
Ukraine says it is increasingly successful in pushing back Russian troops at Kharkiv. As a result of the counter-offensive, Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv are said to have reached the border with Russia.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry released a video on Sunday night showing a dozen soldiers at a border post.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov told the BBC that the Ukrainian army has expelled the Russians from the city. Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine after Kyiv. There has been heavy fighting in the metropolis since the start of the war in February.