Pentagon Says Can Not Confirm Reports Of Ukraine Troops' Surrender At Azovstal

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th May, 2022) The United States is unable to confirm the surrender of Ukrainian forces at the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday.

"I've not seen reports on that, no, I'm afraid not. I can't confirm that," Kirby said when asked to confirm the news of� the surrender of Ukraine troops who were surrounded at the Azovstal steel plant.

Ukrainian forces held up at Azovstal reached a deal on the removal of the wounded from the plant to a medical facility in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Monday.

On Monday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed they have seen reports that Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement on evacuation from the Azovstal steel plant, but added that the United Nations is not engaged in evacuating the injured or combatants.

On March 7, DPR forces surrounded Mariupol and began a campaign to take the city. The DPR forces also surrounded the fighters of the Ukrainian extremist Azov battalion held up in the underground tunnels of the Azovstal plant.