INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Moscow said nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Russian-held Mariupol as it shored up a key gain in the south, while the
United States became the latest Western country to reopen its embassy in Kyiv.Ukraine has ordered its garrison in Mariupol to stand down,
but the ultimate outcome of Europe&s bloodiest battle for decades remains unresolved.Top commanders of Ukrainian fighters who had made their
last stand at the Azovstal steelworks in the port city are still inside the plant, according to the leader of pro-Russian separatists in
control of the area, Denis Pushilin, quoted by local news agency DNA on Wednesday.Ukrainian officials have declined to comment publicly on
the fate of the fighters.The state is making utmost efforts to carry out the rescue of our service personnel,& military spokesman Oleksandr
Motuzaynik told a news conference
&Any information to the public could endanger that process.Ukraine confirmed the surrender of more than 250 fighters on Tuesday but did not
say how many more were inside.Russia said on Wednesday an additional 694 more fighters had surrendered, bringing the total number to 959
Its defence ministry posted videos of what it said were Ukrainian fighters receiving hospital treatment after surrendering at
Azovstal.Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Red Cross and the United Nations were involved in talks, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko
said, but gave no details.Mariupol is the biggest city Russia has captured so far and allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to claim a
rare victory in the invasion it began on Feb
24.Moscow has focussed on the southeast in recent offensives after pulling away from Kyiv, where, in a further sign of normalisation, the
United States said it had resumed operations at its embassy on Wednesday.The Ukrainian people … have defended their homeland in the face
of Russia&s unconscionable invasion, and, as a result, the Stars and Stripes are flying over the Embassy once again,& United States
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.A small number of diplomats would return initially to staff the mission but consular operations will
not resume immediately, said embassy spokesperson Daniel Langenkamp
The United States Senate later approved veteran diplomat Bridget Brink as ambassador to Ukraine, filling a post that has been vacant for
three years.Canada, Britain and others have also recently resumed embassy operations.Moscow says it is engaged in a &special military
operation& to demilitarise and &denazify& its neighbour
The West and Kyiv call that a false pretext for invasion.NATO APPLICATIONFinland and Sweden formally applied for NATO membership on
Wednesday, a decision made in the wake of the Ukrainian invasion and the very kind of expansion that Putin cited as a reason for attacking
Ukraine.United States Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith called for an expedited accession process that could be &done in a couple of
months&, but NATO member Turkey said its approval depended on the return of ''terrorists&, namely Kurdish militants and Fethullah Gulen
followers.Finland and Sweden were both militarily non-aligned throughout the Cold War.Although Russia had threatened retaliation against the
plans, Putin said on Monday their NATO membership would not be an issue unless the alliance sent more troops or weapons there.Russia could,
however, cut off gas supplies to Finland this week, Finland&s state-owned energy provider Gasum said.The European Commission announced a 210
billion euro ($220 billion) plan for Europe to end its reliance on Russian oil, gas and coal by 2027.Meanwhile, Google (GOOGL.O) became the
latest big Western company to pull out of Russia, saying its local unit had filed for bankruptcy and was forced to shut operations after its
bank accounts were seized
read moreDONBAS ATTACKSOn the battle front, Russian forces pressed on with their main offensive, trying to capture more territory in the
eastern Donbas region which Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukrainian
saboteurs had blown up the tracks ahead of an armoured train carrying Russian troops in the occupied southern city of Melitopol
read moreThe partisans got it, although they did not blow up the armoured train itself,& he said in a video posted on social media,
contradicting an earlier statement from Ukraine&s territorial defence force that the train had been blown up.Arestovych said the incident
showed that the partisan movement was actively disrupting Russian forces.The capture of Mariupol, the main port for the Donbas, has given
Moscow full control of the Sea of Azov and an unbroken swathe of territory across Ukraine&s east and south.The governor of the Luhansk
region, part of the Donbas, said there had been a number of attacks there.Most of the shelling today was conducted in Severodonetsk and
villages nearby… The Russians are still trying to cut the &road of life& through the centre of Luhansk region linking Lysychansk and
Bakhmut,& Serhity Gaidai wrote on Telegram.The post More Ukraine fighters surrendering in Mariupol, Russia says first appeared on Ariana
