Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu stated on Thursday that Mariupol is liberated from Ukrainian forces, and that order can now be restored in the Ukrainian city. However, he noted that remaining radicals are still besieged at the Azovstal steel plant.
"During the liberation of the city, more than 4,000 [militants] were eliminated, 1,478 surrendered. The remaining group, more than 2,000, was blockaded in the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant", he said.
President Putin congratulated the minister, but stressed that storming the stronghold and entering the catacombs was unwise. He suggested that Russian forces should organise an airtight blockade of the industrial zone instead.
At the same time, Shoigu added that over 140,000 civilians had been evacuated from Mariupol, and that the hostages taken by radicals at the port — including crews of the docked vessels — were freed by the Russian and Donbass forces.
Mariupol, the second-largest city of the Donetsk People's Republic, was taken by Kiev's forces back in 2014, soon after the DPR proclaimed its independence. Since the beginning of the special operation in February, the Russian troops and Donbass militias have been pushing Ukrainian forces from the city.
During the liberation, witnesses reported numerous crimes committed by the Ukrainian radicals in the city, including taking hostages and using civilians as human shields.