OREANDA-NEWS. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is “destroying his soldiers” by constantly trying to storm the Zmeiny Island in the Black Sea, military expert Dmitry Litovkin told NEWS.ru. According to him, the leader is in an "intellectual vacuum", not understanding the futility of such operations. The interlocutor also appreciated the decision of ten fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to surrender with a white flag from the Mariupol Azovstal plant.

"They were lucky. They were able to escape from their comrades-in-arms and safely surrender, as Zelensky gave the order to shoot on the spot. I don’t know how serious the infrastructure is at Azovstal, but, judging by the reports in Ukrainian social networks, their situation is critical, prayers went to the UN, Turkey, the Pope, but Zelensky signed a decree: we can’t save, sit and take a breath there. How long they will sit there - we should not be worried", - Litovkin emphasized.

Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of one of the units of the internal troops of the DPR, announced the surrender of the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He said that he was "satisfied" with the surrender of the "Azovites" as prisoners. According to him, it is "a matter of human gain." Khodakovsky participates in blocking the exits of the Azov fighters: the purpose of the operation is to localize the enemy in the zone of the main workshops, which are being attacked by aircraft. Khodakovsky noted that as long as the enemy has the opportunity to maneuver even in a narrow strip around the plant, he has a chance to evade attacks that are "effective against a concentrated, and not" smeared "enemy."

Earlier, the Minister for the Reintegration of Uncontrolled Territories, Irina Vereshchuk, said that Kyiv wants to sign a document regulating the evacuation from the territory of Azovstal. According to her, the parties have begun a new round of negotiations on the evacuation procedure, Turkey will act as a mediator in this process.