18.5. 05:34 • Updated May 18 05:35
We gathered the key news related to the war in Ukraine last night and last night.
Zelenskyi: Evacuation from Azovstal continues
Ukrainian soldiers still in the Azovstal steel plant area in Mariupol are being evacuated, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyi at the turn of Tuesday and Wednesday in speech (switch to another service).
– The evacuation operation continues, it is being monitored by our army and intelligence. The most influential international mediators are involved, Zelenskyi said.
At least more than 250 soldiers fortified in the factory area have surrendered to Russian forces after weeks of resistance. Both Ukraine and Russia have said there are more than 50 seriously wounded soldiers.
Ukrainian authorities have not said how many soldiers are still in Azovstal.
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov according to a new command has been given to the soldiers in Azovstal: to save their lives.
– Ukraine needs them, Reznikov said.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman: Russia holds 3,000 civilians in a former penitentiary
According to the Ukrainian human rights ombudsman, the Russian army is holding more than 3,000 Mariupol civilians in a former penitentiary in the Donetsk region near Olenivka, which is held by Russia.
The Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisovan according to, most civilians are held for one month, but those considered “particularly unreliable” are held for two months. These can be, for example, former soldiers and police.
Among those arrested are, according to Denisova, about 30 volunteers who delivered humanitarian aid to Mariupol when the city was besieged.
According to the news agency AP, seven buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol arrived at another former penitentiary in the same area. The number of soldiers on board the buses is unknown.
Ukraine says it has killed high-ranking Russian officers
In southern Ukraine, the regional administration claims that several high-ranking Russian officers were killed by Ukrainian guerrillas in the city of Melitopol. The administration that reported in Telegram did not provide details of the alleged killings.
The data has not been immediately independently verified.
Melitopol has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war.
During the war, Ukraine has said it has killed several Russian generals and other officers. Russia has confirmed some of the deaths.