According to media reports, Russian troops have begun to storm the besieged Azov-Stahl steelworks in the fiercely contested Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
“They bombed us from the air all night (…) and now Azov steel is being stormed,” the newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda quoted the deputy commander of the Ukrainian Azov regiment, Svyatoslav Palamar, as saying today. Two civilians were also killed in the recent Russian attacks, Palamar said, according to the newspaper.
There was no official confirmation from the Russian side. However, the state news agency RIA, citing a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, reported that Azov fighters entrenched on the factory premises had used a ceasefire to return to their firing positions. These would now be attacked with artillery and from the air.
In addition to Ukrainian fighters, around 200 civilians are said to be stuck on the factory premises. Over the weekend, more than 120 people were rescued with international help. However, another planned evacuation action yesterday failed. Shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression, Mariupol was besieged on February 24 and has been largely occupied by Russian troops in the past few days.