INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
tunnels and bunkers fighting a rear-guard battle to prevent Russian troops taking full control of the strategically located city.But on
Monday Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar said more than 260 had been moved through humanitarian corridors to areas under Moscow
and Russia-backed separatists' control."An exchange procedure will be carried out for their further return home," Malyar said.The Ukrainian
army said the soldiers in Mariupol had "performed their combat task" and now the main goal was to "save the lives of personnel."By holding
the steelworks, they stopped Russian forces from rapidly capturing the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a statement on Facebook said.Despite
the resources of its giant neighbor, Ukraine has managed to repel the Russian army for longer than many expected, fortified by weapons and
cash from Western allies.The latest example of this came Monday, when Ukraine's defense ministry announced its troops had regained control
of territory on the Russian border near the country's second-largest city of Kharkiv, which has been under constant attack.Eastern
assaultSince failing to take Kyiv in the early weeks of the war, Moscow has switched its focus to Donbas, a region near the Russian border
that is home to pro-Russian separatists.Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich told local television Sunday that Russian troops were being
redeployed to take Severodonetsk, the easternmost city still held by Ukraine.Its occupation would grant the Kremlin de facto control of
repelled with heavy equipment losses, while Russian-occupied railway bridges were blown up, Ukrainian officials said.Russia continued
strikes on Luhansk, killing two people and wounding nine during shelling of a Severodonetsk hospital, the Ukrainian presidency said Monday.A
further 10 people were killed by Russian strikes on Severodonetsk, according to the local governor.Police in neighboring Donetsk said six
civilians were killed and 12 wounded in Russian shelling over the past 24 hours.Six million refugees have fled Ukraine since the war began,
relenting nearly three months into its invasion, Finland and Sweden are poised to give up decades of military non-alignment by joining the
poses "no direct threat for us..
more moderate than comments earlier Monday from deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, who called the expansion a "grave mistake with
far-reaching consequences."The move is not a done deal in any case, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday confirming his
country's intention to block the applications, accusing Finland and Sweden of harboring terror groups, including outlawed Kurdish
militants.Sweden and Finland have failed to respond positively to Turkey's 33 extradition requests over the past five years, justice
Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence Sunday that Sweden and Finland would join NATO despite Turkey's opposition.Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet Blinken in Washington on Wednesday, where Ankara's objections are expected to figure high on the
unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow but being blocked by Hungary over the economic cost."We are unhappy with the fact that the oil
embargo is not there," Ukraine's top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba said afterward."It's clear who's holding up the issue
But time is running out because every day Russia keeps making money and investing this money into the war."The war meanwhile is taking its
toll on the continent's growth
The European Commission sharply cut its eurozone forecast for 2022 to 2.7%, blaming skyrocketing energy prices.Separately, French automaker
Renault has handed over its Russian assets to Moscow, while U.S
fast food giant McDonald's announced it would be pulling out, citing the "humanitarian crisis caused by the war."
