Contact has been lost with Ukrainian troops, who are staging a final battle at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the mayor of the devastated port city said as more civilians fled the city by evacuation buses.
Vadim Boychenko told Ukrainian television that “we have no way of knowing what is happening, whether they are safe or not” after weeks of brutal bombing that has left much of the city in ruins.
It is not known if any of the civilians trapped in the construction work, which leaves about 200 people – including 30 children – are among those who came out.
The convoy of evacuation buses, organized by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, was headed for the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhia, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said, but was not expected to arrive on Wednesday.
Ukrainian MP Kira Rudyk said 156 people had managed to leave Mariupol and reach the relative safety of Zaporozhye, 140 miles (230km) on Tuesday after at least 20 failed attempts to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal site.
map of Ukraine
She told Sky News that the main goal of the humanitarian workers was “to make sure we get all the children out,” adding: “About 30 children are still there. The most difficult step would be with the wounded soldiers, because Russia does not allow them to leave.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the rest of Ukraine’s forces at the plant were “probably blocked around the perimeter.” He claims that repeated proposals to “release civilians and lay down their arms” have been ignored.
Ukraine on Wednesday accused Moscow of planning a military parade in Mariupol on May 9th, when Russia traditionally celebrates its victory over the Nazis in World War II with marches in dozens of cities.
“Mariupol will become a center of ‘celebration’,” a statement from Ukrainian military intelligence said on social media. The central streets of the city are urgently cleaned of debris, bodies and unexploded ordnance.
It says an official from Russia’s presidential administration has already arrived in the city, now almost entirely under Russian control, for a “large-scale propaganda campaign. The Russians will be shown stories about the “joy” of the locals from the meeting with the occupiers.
The evacuees from Azovstal, who arrived in Zaporozhye, were emotional. “We are very grateful to everyone who helped. There was a moment when we lost hope, we thought everyone had forgotten about us, “said Anna Zaitseva, holding her six-month-old baby.
Elina Tsibulchenko, 54, said Russian forces were “bombing like every second.” “Everything shook. The dogs were barking and the children were screaming, “she told Agence France-Presse. “The most difficult moment was when we were told that our bunker would not survive a direct hit.”
Ukrainian evacuee describes months of horror in the bunker of Azovstal – video
After failing to take Kyiv, Moscow refocused its efforts on gaining full control of Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the eastern region of Donbass, and securing a southern land corridor through Mariupol to occupied Crimea.
Ukraine’s defense ministry said Russia was stepping up its offensive and had carried out nearly 50 airstrikes on Tuesday. Ministry spokesman Alexander Motuzyanik said artillery bombardment and air strikes also continued at the Azovstal plant.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied Ukrainian reports that Moscow forces are trying to storm the plant. “The order was issued publicly by [Vladimir Putin] to cancel the assault, “Peskov said. “No assault.”
On Wednesday, both countries reported Russian strikes on key transport infrastructure around the western city of Lviv, near Poland, and in Transcarpathia, which borders Hungary.
There were also fears that the conflict could spill over into neighboring Moldova. European Council President Charles Michel offered the republic “full solidarity” and EU support. “We plan to significantly increase our support for Moldova by providing its military with additional military equipment,” he said during a visit.
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Russia’s Defense Ministry says it has deactivated six railway stations in eastern Ukraine used to supply Ukrainian forces with Western production; hit 40 Ukrainian military targets, including four ammunition and weapons depots; and fired two military cruise missiles from a submarine in the Black Sea.
Moscow has deployed 22 battalion tactical groups near the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, apparently in an attempt to capture the nearby cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk in the Donbass, British military intelligence said.
Shoigu said his forces would view NATO’s arms-carrying transport units in Ukraine as targets to be destroyed. The alliance said individual member states were sending military supplies but not troops.
Neighboring pro-Russian Belarus’s defense ministry has announced military exercises, saying they do not pose a threat, but Ukraine’s border service said it could not rule out the possibility of Belarusian forces joining Russia’s attack. “We are ready,” a spokesman said.
Ukraine remains challenging. “Russia is struggling to make progress and is suffering terrible losses,” tweeted Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. “So is the desperate missile terror in Ukraine. But we are not afraid, and the world should not be afraid either. ”
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