Russia said on Wednesday nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol but Kyiv was silent about their fate, while a pro-Russian separatist leader said commanders were still holed up in tunnels beneath the Azovstal steelworks.
More than a day after Kyiv announced it had ordered its garrison in Mariupol to stand down, the ultimate outcome of Europe's bloodiest battle for decades remained unresolved. Ukrainian officials halted all public discussion of the fate of fighters who had made their last stand there.
