On Wednesday, May 11, Pope Francis met with the wives of two Azov officials who are now at the Azovstal plant.
Mariupol defenders continue to hold their positions at the Azovstal plant. Being in a long environment, they refused to give up. At the same time, a political solution to the issue of Mariupol defenders is also not seen. After the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal, the invaders began to attack the plant bunkers with renewed force, using all sorts of weapons.
What options are possible to save the Ukrainian defenders?
Four options from Azov
Ilya Samoylenko, an official of the intelligence department of the Azov Regiment, who is now in Azovstal, said the defenders of the intercepted Mariupol had four options, but the only acceptable one was combat.
“Regarding the opportunities we have here, I will tell you the same thing I say to my comrades, soldiers … in a critical situation like today, we have four options … First, you can, of course, just lower your arms and sit in the corner and wait for the end, be it a slow death by starvation or a quick death by bomb, you just accept. The second option – you can try to run away like a coward, just think about your own life, do not think of your duty, when you swear. The situation is such that we are more than 100 kilometers from our main positions, we do not have proper training on both sides, it is impossible to get through here, impossible, but if all you think about is your life, then, of course , you will seize every opportunity … Third You can lay down your weapons and just give up. And the fourth option is the only way that can guarantee your life and you will not be ashamed of what you did – to stand up and fight, “Samoilenko stressed.
In Azov, they believed that the warriors of the regiment had no high chance of surviving if they were captured, so surrender was not acceptable, it was just to make a good gift to the enemy.
Samoylenko said that captivity for the “Azovites” means death, because the enemy violates all the rules and customs of war. And there is already clear evidence of this. On April 20, the Russian occupiers captured Ukrainian military Dan Zvonik, filmed it, saying “the Ukrainians surrendered”, and urged him to follow this example. But a few days later, Zvonik’s mother received a message from her phone – a picture of her dead son. According to Samoylenko, the Russians strangled this captured fighter.
Diplomacy is not yet working
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia does not agree with any of Ukraine’s proposed options for Ukrainian military rescue in Mariupol. The fighters themselves requested that the method of “capture” be applied to the defenders of Mariupol, following the example of the Dunkirk operation in 1940.
So, in 1940, the British and French military was surrounded by German troops and blocked the Dunkirk city area. Troops gathered on the coast were threatened with disaster, but Hitler ordered the offensive to stop and “do not approach Dunkirk closer than 10 km.” During the rescue operation, more than 300,000 French and British soldiers were evacuated at sea.
However, Russia does not agree on the method of capture, so Ukraine is looking for other options. Seriously wounded soldiers from Azovstal are already being offered to exchange for Russian captives according to standard rules. for the exchange of prisoners of war. But there is still no agreement, negotiations continue.
A petition to the UN calling for the removal of the Ukrainian military from Azovstal to a third country garnered more than 1 million votes. The petition for the application of the procurement procedure was registered by the wife of the commander of the Azov regiment Denis Prokopenko Ekaterina.
UN signatories and UN Secretary General António Guterres called on:
-to resume the 11th special session of the UN General Assembly to consider the humanitarian situation in Mariupol as a result of the aggression against Ukraine;
– adopt a resolution obligating the Russian Federation as an aggressor country to ensure the evacuation of all persons in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government, or in the territory of third safe countries.
At the same time, the signatories call on all world leaders to take the necessary steps to ensure and implement the resolution, as well as to act as a guarantor of security.
“Despite the inhumane conditions, the Ukrainian military controls the territory of the Azovstal plant, which, in particular, serves as a shelter for civilians and the wounded. Such conditions are a real humanitarian catastrophe artificially created. of the Russian Federation.There is a great shortage of food, medicine, sanitation and personal protective equipment in the city.Due to the total damage to infrastructure and housing, the city of Mariupol is gone.Now the time is running out, the occupiers are partially entered the territory of the Azovstal plant, every minute of delay could cause huge losses to all who lurked in the territory of the plant, ”the petition said.
On Wednesday, May 11, Pope Francis met with the wives of two Azov officials, Ekaterina Prokopenko and Yulia Fedosyuk. The wives of the servicemen told the pontiff that there was no food or water left in the factory. “You are our last hope. We hope you save their lives. Please don’t let them die,” one of the Ukrainians said to dad.
Prokopenko and Fedosyuk handed the Pope photographs of wounded soldiers from the factory and an appeal stating that the soldiers were willing to give up their weapons to a third country in case they evacuated. According to the spouses, the military should not surrender to Russia, because torture and death await them there.
There are opportunities for military solution?
Representatives of the Azov Regiment, which is defending Mariupol, are sure that there is a military way to liberate the Azovstal plant and rescue the fighters from there.
“It’s possible (to do) by military means, and it’s possible by political means. We can tell you how to do it in the military, but of course such operations are classified information. Most people sitting in government offices in Ukraine mostly do not understand the situation, from our point of view, the reality is different, “said Ilya Samoylenko.
According to him, the biggest problem is national security.
He is confident that in the event of catastrophic consequences for the Mariupol garrison, there will be catastrophic consequences for the whole of Ukraine and its people. Samoylenko added that the fighters are still trying to “canalize efforts for the best options and consequences” in this situation.
However, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that military unlocking of Mariupol was not yet possible due to the lack of heavy weapons.
Source: korrespondent
