The assault on Azovstal Russian bombardment reportedly destroys Mariupol metalworks plant --
Full title: The assault on Azovstal Russian bombardment reportedly destroys Mariupol metalworks plant — a Ukrainian stronghold also sheltering civilians
On Tuesday, April 19, the deputy commander of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment said that Russian bombardment had destroyed Mariupol’s Azovstal plant “almost completely.” The metalworks plant was serving as a Ukrainian stronghold, where the Azov Regiment and 36th Marine Brigade continued to defend the besieged city. What’s more, according to Ukrainian authorities, at least 1,000 civilians (including children) were hiding in underground shelters at the industrial complex at the time of the Russian assault. Here’s what we know so far.
On Monday, April 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia had begun a “battle for the Donbas,” having focused “a very large part of the entire Russian army” on this offensive. Meanwhile, in the south-west of the Donetsk region, the battle for Mariupol (which Zelensky called the “heart of the war”) was ongoing — Ukraine’s Azov Regiment and 36th Marine Brigade were holding the line at the Azovstal metalworks plant.
On Tuesday, April 19, for the second time in three days, the Russian Defense Ministry called for the surrender of the Ukrainian forces at the Azovstal plant (the statement was addressed to “fighters from nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries”). Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who heads Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said that the “offer” was made “taking into account the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant” and was “also guided by purely humane principles.” Allegedly, three humanitarian corridors would be made available to those who wished to surrender.
The Russian Defense Ministry also called on these forces to lay down their arms on April 16. In addition, the ministry claimed to have obtained radio intercepts of the Azovstal defenders allegedly asking Kyiv for permission to surrender, only to be told that they would be shot. How many Ukrainian troops are in the Azovstal plant is currently unknown; the Ukrainian side hasn’t disclosed this information. However, the militia of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) claims that there are no more than 2,500 Ukrainian troops at the site.
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/04/19/the-assault-on-azovstal
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