Ukrainian military start leaving Azot plant in Severodonetsk

The Ukrainian military, who were staying on the territory of the Azot plant in Severodonetsk, started leaving the factory to surrender.

"During the special military operation on the territory of the Azot plant in the city of Severodonetsk, a number of Ukrainian military men made the right decision and began to surrender,” Andrei Marochko, an officer of the People's Militia of the Luhansk People's Republic said, TASS reports.

Earlier, Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the LPR, said that there could be up to a thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) staying on the territory of the Azot plant in Severodonetsk.

Foreign nationals are also believed to be hiding on the territory of Azot plant. According to Vitaly Kiselyov, deputy head of the LPR Ministry of Internal Affairs, it goes about up to 40 mercenaries from the United States.

The fighting for Severodonetsk, a major hub of Ukraine's chemical industry, has been going on since mid-March. The Armed Forces of Ukraine took shelter at the Azot chemical plant and show strong resistance. Luhansk authorities draw comparisons between Azot plant in Severodonetsk and Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

On Thursday, June 16, Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Luhansk People's Republic, said that the LPR troops took almost the entire territory of the large regional center of Severodonetsk under control, except for the Azot chemical plant. According to Pasechnik, there are from 1,000 to 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers hiding there. 

• The city of Severodonetsk is located on the left bank of the Seversky Donets River. Its territory is 58 square kilometers. Of these, 20 sq.km account for residential development, whereas industrial facilities take another 20 sq. km. The rest of the city territory is forested. 
• The population of the city before the start of the special operation was just over 100,000 people. Severodonetsk is a major hub of Ukraine's chemical industry. It has more than ten chemical industry plants. Severodonetsk Azot is the largest chemical enterprise in the country.