Ukrainian forces have repelled “numerous” Russian attempted advances in Donbas, UK defense intelligence says
The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement Tuesday claiming that Russian forces had opened an evacuation corridor around the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, a claim dismissed by a Ukrainian police official on the scene.
“Given the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the city of Mariupol, and also guided by purely humane principles, from 14:00 (2:00 p.m. Moscow time) on April 19, 2022, the Russian Armed Forces opened a humanitarian corridor for the withdrawal of Ukrainian military personnel who voluntarily laid down their arms and militants of nationalist formations,” the statement read. “For this purpose, a ‘ceasefire mode’ has been introduced, any hostilities have been stopped, units of the Russian Armed Forces and the formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic along the entire perimeter of Azovstal have been withdrawn to a safe distance.”
The statement also…