In an interview with The War Zone, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, told the details of the flights of Ukrainian helicopters to help the defenders of Mariupol.
According to him, the crews of Ukrainian helicopters usually flew 2 planes, but there was a case when 4 planes flew to Mariupol at once.
In total, two of the 16 helicopters involved were shot down by Russian troops. Another was shot down as it flew to help another downed helicopter. There were seven flights.
Helicopters delivered weapons, ammunition, medicine, and food to the defenders of Mariupol. Also, reinforcement consisting of 72 soldiers of the Azov Regiment was once brought to the city.
- On May 16, the process of removing Ukrainian servicemen from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol began. More than 250 fighters were the first ones to leave.
- The next day, the speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation called the Ukrainian military from Azovstal "war criminals" and said that they should not be exchanged.
- On May 19, members of the International Committee of the Red Cross were able to visit some Ukrainian servicemen who had left Azovstal and were in occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast. The visit was confidential, details of the conditions of detention of Ukrainian defenders are not disclosed.