On May 12, the Russians launched their “final assault” on the Azovstal works, where the last elements of the Mariupol garrison remained. Massive air and artillery attacks were launched using heavy weapons. To assault the Azovstal area, the Russian forces involved formations with a total number of up to 6,000-7,000 fighters supported by a tactical reserve of 2,000-3,000 fighters.

On May 16, Ukraine’s highest military-political leadership ordered the Mariupol garrison to preserve the lives and health of the personnel. The garrison laid down their arms and surrendered. At the same time, Russian command began to gradually relocate part of its forces involved in the city assault to other sections of the front. In particular, units and subdivisions of the enemy 150th Motor Rifle Division were sent to the north, to the Volnovakha and Donetsk directions.

Their subsequent efforts to resume the offensive on the Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih axes also failed. Units of the 19th Motor Rifle Division, supported by units of the 5th Separate Tank Brigade, tried to reach Orikhiv, but could not break through the defense of the Ukrainian forward units. Similar assaults near Huliaipole likewise ended without success.

Units of the Russian 22nd Army Corps attempted to resume the offensive in the Vysokopillia area in the Kryvyi Rih axis, which brought no significant results, however the Russians did gain the opportunity to shell the Kryvorizka thermal power plant with field artillery.

In the Eastern Operational Zone, the Russians continued their advance in the direction of Sloviansk, Popasna, Severodonetsk, and Lyman, seeking to disrupt the Ukrainian defense’s operational depth. At the end of the month, the Russians managed to break through to Severodonetsk and start hostilities in the city.

On the Kherson axis, the situation for the Russians was worsening. Following the unsuccessful Russian attempt to advance toward Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian forward units managed to cross Ingulets and set up a bridgehead on the river's left bank. Russian attempts to break through in the directions of Barvinkove and Sloviansk from the north failed again. However, in the Lyman direction, they managed to advance and connect the adjacent flanks of two operational tactical groups.

For their northern thrust in the Eastern Operational Zone, Russian commanders involved units of the 1st Guards Tank Army, 20th Combined Arms Army, part of the 6th Combined Arms Army, as well as the 2nd and 41st Combined Arms Armies of Central Military District, reinforced by separate formations of the 35th and 36th Combined Arms Army of Eastern Military District. However, they still lacked the operational density of forces for a successful advance in that direction. They began relocating reserves to that strip, including air assault units and special forces brigades.