The Supreme Military Command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel, reported the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Holding positions on Azovstal, they did not allow the enemy to transfer the group of up to 17 battalion tactical groups (about 20,000 personnel) to other areas. Thus they thwarted the plan for the rapid capture of Zaporizhya, access to the administrative border of the Donetsk and Zaporizhya regions and creation of the necessary conditions to surround the unit of the Joint Forces Operation, "- said the General Staff.
Among the defenders of Mariupol is the Special Operations Detachment Azov, the 12th brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 36th separate brigade of the Marines, border guards, police, volunteers, and the Mariupol Territorial Defence.
The General Staff noted that tying down the main enemy forces around Mariupol made it possible to prepare and create defense lines that the Ukrainian troops hold and give a worthy rebuff to the aggressor.
"We will fight for you on all fronts as faithfully as you defend the state!" The General Staff assured.
The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Border Guard Service launched a joint operation to rescue the defenders of Mariupol blocked on the territory of the Azovstal plant. 53 seriously injured people were evacuated to a medical institution in Novoazovsk for medical care. Another 211 people were taken to Olenivka through a humanitarian corridor. An exchange procedure will be carried out to return them home.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine wants its heroes alive.