Ahead of the big military parade in Moscow on the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, Ukrainian fighters holed up in Mariupol braced themselves for a Russian assault on Sunday. According to information from Kyiv, the last remaining civilians were taken out of the Azov steelworks in Mariupol on Saturday. In eastern Ukraine, the Russian army intensified its attacks on Sunday. According to the Ukrainian general staff, the situation on the border with Moldova was “tense”.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, the blockade of the steel plant in Mariupol continued. Hundreds of soldiers have holed up in the industrial complex, which is the last bastion of the Ukrainian military in the devastated port city. However, the trapped fighters in the steelworks ruled out a capitulation. “Giving up is not an option because our lives don’t interest Russia,” an Azov Brigades officer said on Sunday.
Should the steelworks fall, the Russians would have taken the strategically important port city entirely, which would be an important military success for Moscow. So far, Kherson is the only important Ukrainian city that has been under complete Russian control since the war of aggression at the end of February.
For days, the Ukrainian authorities have been warning of an intensified Russian offensive around May 9th. “The enemy is trying to finish off the defenders of Azov Steel, they are trying to do it before May 9 as a gift to Vladimir Putin,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, also warned of “rocket attacks in all parts of the country”. A curfew was ordered for the cities of Odessa and Poltava.