📢 Statement

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov regiment, stated that Ukrainian fighters had fulfilled orders to hold the steel mill and were now instructed by high command to save lives and lay down arms.

Mariupol, Donetsk
Verified Independently confirmed by 6 sources
Stefan Korshak (Substack) Ukrinform Ukrainska Pravda Kyiv Independent UNIAN Censor.NET

Multiple high-reliability sources confirm the core facts of this event.

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Entities

Denys Prokopenko (person) Azov special regiment (military_unit) UAF high command (organization) Ukrainian defenders (military_unit) Azovstal plant (location) UN (organization) Azovstal steel plant (location) Mariupol (location) Russian Federation (organization) Petro Andryushchenko (person) DNR (organization) Police of Donetsk Region (organization) Russian occupiers (organization) Russian Ministry of Defence (organization) Ukraine (organization) Azov Regiment (military_unit) Russian Ministry of Defense (organization) Azovstal steelworks (location) Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (organization) Hanna Malyar (person) Mariupol garrison (military_unit) Russian forces (military_unit) Azov National Guard Regiment (military_unit) Marines (military_unit) border guards (military_unit) police officers (military_unit) Azovstal (location) Red Cross (organization) Serhii Mykhailenko (person) Dmytro Kozatskyi (person) Russian army (military_unit) Russian media (organization) Novoazovsk (location) Kirill Popov (person) Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (organization) Rustam Stepanenko (person) Pavlo Kyrylenko (person) Donetsk Oblast (location) Azov Brigade (military_unit) Ukrainian troops (military_unit) Petro Andriushchenko (person) Ukrainian soldiers (military_unit) Russian Defense Ministry (organization) Alexey Arestovych (person) Slovyansk (location) Peter Andryushchenko (person) Russian occupation authorities (organization) Danylo Prokopenko (person) Denis Prokopenko (person) InformNapalm (organization) Russian Armed Forces (military_unit) Denys Prokopyenko (person) Ukrainian intelligence (organization) Donetsk (location) Vadim Denysenko (person) Petr Andryushchenko (person) Vladimir Putin (person) Volodymyr Zelenskyy (person) Armed Forces of Ukraine (organization) Alexander Khodakovsky (person) RENTV (organization) URA.RU (organization) Sergei Grabsky (person) Irina Vereshchuk (person) Hanna Maliar (person) 12th Brigade of the National Guard (military_unit) Schleha (person) Russia (organization) School No. 9 (location) National Police of Ukraine (organization)

Source Reports

What each source reports. "Source tone" reflects the language used by the outlet — it is not an independent verification.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov regiment, stated that Ukrainian fighters had fulfilled orders to hold the steel mill and were now instructed by high command to save lives and lay down arms.

Ukrinform → Source tone: certain

Evacuation of defenders from the Azovstal plant began on May 16, 2022

Ukrinform → Source tone: certain

The evacuation lasted several days

Ukrinform → Source tone: certain

Ukrainian military defended Mariupol for more than 80 days

Ukrainska Pravda → Source tone: certain

Information spread by DNR militants that 10 Azov servicemen surrendered is fake news.

Kyiv Independent → Source tone: likely

Prokopenko stated the Mariupol garrison held off overwhelming enemy forces for 82 days

Kyiv Independent → Source tone: certain

Prokopenko stated the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the supreme military command to save lives

UNIAN → Source tone: uncertain

Russian forces are attacking Slovyansk to seize water sources because the occupied 'DPR' is running out of water.

Censor.NET → Source tone: likely

Occupiers preparing big informational and psychological provocation in Mariupol for May 16-17, according to InformNapalm.

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Extraction metadata

Extracted: 2026-05-30T04:15:31.560Z

Source story: day-83-2023-02-11