The city’s mayor assures them that they are “shooting heavy artillery, tanks, planes and even the approaching Russian ships” against the steel mill.
The spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, stated during a press conference on Wednesday that fighters of the Ukrainian army units defending the Azovstal steel plant in Mariúpol “are still blocked at the plant (…) we have the connection with them. In his words, after the evacuations of civilians in recent days, “there have been multiple attempted attacks. The artillery, rocket and bomb attacks do not stop (…) there is no connection with our units».
Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boichenko also spoke on Wednesday about the situation in Azovstal, assuring television cameras elsewhere in Ukraine, since he left his city days ago, that “our guys are defending this fortress, but it will be very difficult. He assured that, against the steel mill, “they are firing with heavy artillery, tanks, aircraft and even from the approaching Russian ships.” “Unfortunately, ‘violent fighting’ is taking place,” added Boichenko.
The last Ukrainian soldiers to resist in the steel factory are protected in the basements, a complex labyrinth where “hundreds of civilians and children, there are more than 30″ would be there without evacuating, the mayor said. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov denied on Wednesday that an attack on the steel plant is underway. «The order was given publicly on April 21 by the Commander-in-Chief -Vladímir Putin- to call off any attack. There is no attack at the moment,” said Peskov, who admitted that Azovstal is completely surrounded.
The presidential spokesman explained that the Russian forces surrounding the factory are “intervening only to prevent Ukrainian fighters from creating firing positions”. But judging by the information provided by the Ukrainian authorities, such attacks must be devastating. In addition, a spokesman for Russian forces said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian nationalist Azov battalion, which is considered “Nazi” in Russia, has taken advantage of the recent ceasefire aimed at evacuating civilians to “install firing positions outside the factory.” . For his part, Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov battalion, said on Tuesday that “we were shelled all night (…) two women were killed and now there is an attack on Azovstal.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that Russian forces have brought all of Mariupol under their control and that “a normal and peaceful life has already begun.” Referring to Azovstal, he pointed out that, after refusing to lay down the weapons, “what remains of the Ukrainian army within the perimeter of the factory is now safely blocked.” The Russian defense minister recalled that Azovstal’s defenders “refused to lay down their weapons”.
On April 21, Putin and Shoigu appeared together in a television video to announce the fall of Mariupol. The defense minister reported that the city was ‘liberated’, except for Azovstal. He added that the steel plant would also be evacuated soon, to which the top Russian leader responded by ordering “cancel the attack”, saying it was “inappropriate”. “There’s no need to get into those catacombs and crawl underground through industrial facilities,” Putin added, later ordering that “that industrial zone should be sealed so not even a fly can fly away.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman María Zajárova assured in statements to Sputnik radio this Wednesday that “I am going to say something that Israeli politicians certainly do not want to hear, but that may interest them. In Ukraine, Israeli mercenaries stand shoulder to shoulder with fighters from the Azov battalion, which Moscow considers “Nazis”.
The day before, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine because it is considering sending them weapons. While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared on Sunday that Hitler had “Jewish blood”, a theory that has not been confirmed by historians. Israel called Lavrov’s words “outrageous and unforgivable.”
In addition, Ukrainian military intelligence believes that Russia is preparing a military parade in Mariupol on May 9 to mark the Victory Day over Nazi Germany. One of the signs that such a celebration could take place in the Ukrainian city occupied by Russian troops is the presence of the Kremlin’s deputy head of government, Sergei Kiriyenko. Another telltale sign of the event’s possibility is that the streets are being cleaned and cleared at a rapid pace.
On the other hand, Shoigu warned on Wednesday that “any NATO transport arriving in Ukraine to aid the Ukrainian military will be considered a target to destroy.” In this regard, the head of the Ukrainian presidential government, Andriy Yermak, stated on Wednesday that “Russia wants to stop Western aid with missiles”. “Despite the massive shelling of Ukrainian cities, the Russians will not be able to stop the supply of Western weapons to the front even by destroying the railway infrastructure,” he stressed.
Ukrainian President Volodímir Zelensky denounced the attacks, the most devastating to date in one afternoon, and the fact that they mainly affect civilians and non-military infrastructure. The general staff of the Ukrainian army reported late Tuesday that Russia has fired some 18 rockets at infrastructure in the regions of Dnipro, Kirovograd, Lviv, Vinnitsa, Kiev, Odessa and Zakarpattia.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stated in his usual part that “high-precision and long-range missiles destroyed six electrical substations and parts of the train stations in Podbortsi, Lviv, Volonets, Timkovo and Piatijatka.” According to his report, Ukrainian troops received weapons and ammunition produced by the United States and European countries through those five train stations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba on Wednesday called on the international community to take action and increase sanctions to tackle “Russian missile terrorism”.
Source: La Verdad
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