The Ukrainian army announced that the fighting continued in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol (south-eastern Ukraine).
“The Russian occupiers are busy blocking and trying to destroy Ukrainian units in the territory of Azovstal”, the Ukrainian military said in a statement this morning. According to her, the troops in Moscow have “resumed the offensive with the support of planes to take control of the factory”.
Moscow announced last night that its forces would cease fire for three consecutive days, starting this morning, to allow the evacuation of some two hundred civilians still present in Azovstal.
Lieutenant-Colonel Denys Prokopenko, who commands the soldiers of the Azov regiment entrenched in the steelworks, for his part, indicated in a video released last night that Russian forces had managed to enter the steelworks, where from “violent and bloody fighting” were in progress. “For two days, the enemy managed to enter the premises of the factory, did he declare. I am proud of my soldiers, who are making superhuman efforts to resist the onslaught of the enemy. I am grateful to the whole world for the colossal support given to the Mariupol garrison. Our soldiers deserve it”he adds.
Azovstal, a huge steel complex criss-crossed by underground networks, is the last pocket of resistance by Ukrainian fighters against the Russian army which has besieged this strategic port since the beginning of March. The surrender of its defenders, or its capture by the Russian armed forces, would be an important victory for Moscow.