<span style="color: #222222;">Russian soldiers cleared mines and debris on the industrial grounds of the Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol yesterday after hundreds of Ukrainian forces holed up in the vast plant for weeks were ordered to stand down. Video footage showed that soldiers walked through the compound and swung mine detectors over roads littered with debris, while others checked under objects for the explosive devices. Russia on Friday said, the last Ukrainian fighters defending Azovstal had surrendered.<br />''<br />''Ukraine has not confirmed that development, but a commander of one of the units in the factory said in a video that the troops had been ordered to stand down. Operation at Azovstal yesterday saw mines detonated in controlled explosions and debris cleared from the steelworks' roads using military bulldozers. Drone footage showed the steelworks' buildings left in ruins, many charred, many partially collapsed, and some just a pile of debris. A Russian Spokesperson said that over the last two days, over 100 explosives have been destroyed.<br />''<br />''Full control of Mariupol gives Russia command of a land route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists.</span><br />