The defenders of Mariupol complied with the order - the commander recorded a video message

This was stated in a video message by the commander of the Azov regiment Denis Prokopenko.

According to him, this allowed the Ukrainian army to regroup, train more personnel and receive a large number of weapons.

None of the weapons will work without professionally trained military personnel, which makes them the most valuable element of the army. To save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison fulfills the approved decision of the high military command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people, Prokopenk said.

He stressed that every decision, plan and operation must be questioned.

Critical thinking has always created doubts in my head about the correctness of the decision. This never went beyond the bounds of reason and did not prevent you from always insisting on your point of view. There is always a risk in managing units... The main thing is to understand whether all the risks have been calculated, whether Plan B has been worked out, whether you have given yourself completely to this plan, which should combine the fulfillment of the assigned task and the maximum preservation of the life and health of the personnel.... When you have completed the assigned task and retained the maximum number of personnel - this is the highest level of command and control. Especially when your decision is approved by the highest military leadership,” he said.

Now in social networks there are messages about the evacuation of seriously wounded defenders from Azovstal.

President Volodymyr Zelensky will comment on the situation in his evening address.