Podoljak: Mariupol defenders "changed the course of the war"
Mariupol defenders "changed the course of the war" by lasting 82 days, said the adviser to the Ukrainian president Mihajlo Podoljak.
According to the BBC, he said that the defense of the port city stopped the operation of Russia to occupy territories in the east and south of the country.
According to him, talks to evacuate more people from the Azovstal steel plant, the last remaining area of the city under Ukrainian control, were difficult, but there was hope that they would be successful.
Podoljak, one of Ukraine's negotiators, said the general peace talks with Russia were effectively a "pause" and reiterated that Ukraine was not ready to cede any territory.
But he added that "every war will have the same end - at the negotiating table."