Explosions erupted and smoke rose this week from a steel district in besieged Mariupol, where dwindling Ukrainian forces are hiding as Russia tries to take full control of its largest city so far.
The Azovstal Ironworks, one of Europe’s largest metallurgical plants, has become an apocalyptic redoubt for Ukrainian forces, which have been surpassed, surpassed and surrounded for seven weeks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In the eastern part of the southern port, devastated by weeks of shelling, the plant is located in an industrial zone overlooking the Sea of Azov and covers more than 11 square kilometers (4.25 square miles), containing countless buildings, blast furnaces and railways. lines.
“The Azovstal factory is a huge space with so many buildings that the Russians … just can’t find [the Ukrainian forces]”Said Oleg Zhdanov, a Kyiv-based military analyst.
“That’s why they are [the Russians] began talking about an attempt at a chemical attack; this is the only way to smoke them, “Zhdanov said.
The Azovstal Iron and Steel Works behind damaged buildings in Mariupol on March 28th. Photo: Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters
Ukraine has said it is checking unverified information that Russia may have used chemical weapons in Mariupol. Russian-backed separatists have denied using chemical weapons.
In peacetime, Azovstal pumped 4 million tonnes of steel a year, 3.5 million tonnes of hot metal and 1.2 million tonnes of rolled metal.
Like the city’s Ilyich steel and ironworks, Azovstal is owned by Metinvest, a group controlled by Rinat Akhmetov, a billionaire and the richest man in Ukraine.
A Russian separatist deputy commander told Russian state television on Monday that Moscow had taken 80% of the port, but that resistance continued and Ukrainian forces had tried to “get out to the Azovstal plant”.
He describes the factory as a “fortress in the city”.
Defenders of the city include Ukrainian Marines, motorized brigades, a brigade of the National Guard and the Azov Regiment, a militia created by far-right nationalists, which later became part of the National Guard.
It is the Azov Regiment, the destruction of which is among Moscow’s military objectives, that is mainly associated with Azovstal, and one of its founders, Andrei Biletsky, also calls it the Azov Fortress.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the invasion a “special operation” to demilitarize and denationalize Ukraine, but Ukraine and the West say Russia has started an unprovoked aggressive war.
“Azov is really on the territory of Azovstal… These are huge territories with workshops that cannot be destroyed by air, which is why the Russians are using heavy bombs,” said Sergei Zgurets, a military analyst.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that more than 1,000 soldiers from Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, including 162 officers, had surrendered in Mariupol, although Ukraine has not confirmed this.
Pro-Russian troops are riding in an armored car during fighting near the Azovstal plant in Mariupol on April 12th. Photo: Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters
Alexei Arestovich, an adviser to the President of Ukraine, later said that members of the 36th Marine Brigade had managed to break through in a “high-risk maneuver” to join the Azov Regiment.
“The 36th Brigade avoids being torn to pieces and now has serious additional opportunities, essentially getting a second chance,” he said.
The lack of mobile reception and internet in the city means that information is scarce. Ukraine maintains tight control over communications on troop numbers and other sensitive issues that could compromise its defense.
Biletsky told Ukrainian news website NV on March 20th that Ukraine has a total of 3,000 fighters defending the city against up to 14,000 Russians.
Maxar, a private American satellite company, managed to peek down into the raging battles from space on Tuesday.
“Smoke and fire were observed coming from a number of buildings in the western and eastern parts of the city, as well as in and near the Azovstal Iron and Steel Plant, the site of ongoing battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces,” the statement said.
An EU security source told Reuters that it was too difficult to say how long Ukrainians could last and that it was difficult for Russia to occupy the entire city because of the industrial complexes. “There are tunnel systems under the steel plant.”
“Mariupol is very important for Putin, because after the victory there (and the capitulation of Azov’s troops), he can claim that the process of” denazification “is successful,” the source added.
An aide to the Mariupol mayor said on Wednesday that Russia plans to celebrate the victory in the city on May 9, the date Moscow celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with an annual parade in Red Square.
Zhdanov, a military analyst, said he saw little chance of Ukrainian forces outside breaking the siege of Russia.
“Everyone can guess how many reserves the defenders have and how long they can last. But they have no other choice. They are surrounded on all sides, they must stand to the end. If they surrender, they will not be spared, “he said.
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