More than 1,000 Ukrainian marines have been forced to lay down their arms in the besieged city of Mariupol after heavy fighting and severed supply lines left them short of ammunition and food, the Kremlin has claimed.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed that 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers from the 36th Marine Brigade who were situated near an iron and steel works had surrendered.
Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, the Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson, said he had no information about the claim.
There was also no immediate comment from the Ukrainian president's office, or the Ukrainian general staff, which provides routine updates on the fighting.
“In the town of Mariupol, near the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, as a result of successful offensives by Russian armed forces and Donetsk People’s Republic militia units, 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down arms and surrendered,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Russian defence ministry said 151 wounded Ukrainian soldiers were treated for injuries.
Russian television showed pictures of what it said were marines surrendering up at the Ilyich plant.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, whose forces are said to be playing a major role in the battle for Mariupol, also earlier claimed more than 1,000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered.
He urged remaining forces in the Azovstal steel mill, a separate facility to the Ilyich plant, to surrender.
It was not clear to which plant – Azovstal or Ilyich – Mr Kadyrov was referring when he talked about the purported surrender of 1,000 marines.
“Within Azovstal at the moment there are about 200 wounded who cannot receive any medical assistance,” he said in a social media post.
“For them and all the rest it would be better to end this pointless resistance and go home to their families.”
On Monday, Moscow said a group of up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers using tanks and armoured vehicles had been blocked during an attempt to fight their way out of the besieged IIyich plant and leave the city.
The same day, a post on the Ukrainian marine brigade's Facebook page had said the unit was preparing for a final battle in Mariupol that would end in either death or capture.
"Today will probably be the ultimate battle, as there is no ammo left," said the post. "Beyond that: hand to hand fighting. Beyond that, for some death, for others capture."
It was not clear at the time whether that post was genuine or faked, although Russia’s latest claims of a mass surrender suggest Ukrainian forces are losing the battle for Mariupol, a strategic port city in the Donbas.
If captured, Mariupol would represent the Russians’ biggest strategic victory since the war began seven weeks ago.
On Tuesday, a volunteer fighter from the UK who was fighting with Ukranian troops in Mariupol said he was forced to surrender after running out of food and supplies. Aiden Aslin, who goes by the name Johnny, said the unit he was with “had no choice” but to lay down their weapons after weeks of heavy fighting and relentless Russian attacks cut off supply lines to the area.
