OREANDA-NEWS. Military expert Dmitry Litovkin said in an interview with NEWS.ru that Russian troops "are starting to come out" to complete the encirclement of the APU group in Avdiivka. According to him, this will turn the tide of the special operation, including because one third of all Ukrainian troops are stationed in the Donbas.

Because of this, all this dance around the Azov battalion. If it is eliminated, the end of the Ukrainian army will come,” Litovkin said.

Earlier, the deputy commander of the Azov regiment, Svyatoslav Palamar, said that 600 of his fighters were seriously injured in the catacombs of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, and this figure continues to grow, as does the number of deaths. He added that his unit at the plant does not have antibiotics and other medical supplies to help the wounded. According to him, Kyiv did not take the necessary measures to supply the fighters and now “must do the impossible” to save them, including evacuation under international guarantees from third parties.

Prior to this, the Azov fighters sought support from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Pope. They addressed the penultimate appeal to the entire “world community” and to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The wives of the fighters of the Azov Battalion, blocked in Mariupol on the territory of the Azovstal plant, also asked the head of Ukraine to take out their husbands along with civilians with the help of the UN. The women expressed their hope that the men would be put on the evacuation list.