Moscow claims to have cleared Mariupol of Ukrainian troops

The Russian Defense Ministry claims to have “completely wiped out” Mariupol. State news agencies Tass and RIA announced on Saturday evening that there are no longer any Ukrainian troops active in the urban area of ​​the port city. Only a few members of the Azov battalion, entrenched in an industrial complex, are still standing but completely cut off from the outside world.

A total of 23,367 Ukrainian soldiers and mercenaries are now said to have been eliminated since the start of the war. Russian Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said 4,000 were killed in Mariupol alone, which is largely in ruins. Nearly 1,500 soldiers are said to have surrendered so far. He provided no evidence for this.

Kiev has not yet responded to that report, but had previously said that the situation in Mariupol was “very difficult” and that the humanitarian crisis was undiminished.