Last Ukrainian troops in Mariupol ‘told to stop defence of besieged city’

Ukrainian troops in Mariupol have been told to stop their defence of besieged city, it has been reported.

After prolonged bombardment of the southern Ukrainian city, soldiers of the Azov battalion were told to only “save the lives of soldiers”.

Reuters news agency reported the Azov battalion, which has been sheltering in the Azovstal steel plant, was told to stop its defence of the city on Friday after civilians and the heavily wounded had been evacuated.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the regiment said: “We have constantly emphasised the three most important conditions for us: civilians, wounded and dead.

"The civilians have been evacuated. The heavily wounded received the necessary assistance and they were evacuated, to be later exchanged and delivered to territory controlled by Ukraine."

Mr Prokopenko said the process of removing the dead from the Azovstal plant was still under way.

"I hope that in the near future, relatives and Ukraine will be able to bury their soldiers with honour," he said.

In its latest update, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed as many as 1,700 Ukrainian troops have surrendered from the steel factory.

Earlier in the week, hundreds of soldiers were evacuated from the steelworks and taken to the Russian-backed town of Novoazovsk.

Civilians were also rescued from the plant in the city earlier this month which has seen some of the worst shelling since the war began.

After claiming the southern city, the MoD said it expects Russian forces to refocus efforts in the Donbas after moving troops from Kyiv and central Ukraine.