In . – 04/19/2022 09:29 (act 04/19/2022 09:29)
The Azov regiment in Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, wants a corridor for civilians. ©REUTERS/Pavel Klimov (image of symbol)
There is not much left to conquer Mariupol in southern Ukraine. A request comes from the Azov regiment regarding the corridor for civilians.
In the besieged port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, the Azov regiment demanded the establishment of a corridor dedicated to the evacuation of civilians. Commander Denys Prokopenko said in a video message released on Monday that the Asovstal steel mill site was being attacked by Russian troops with artillery, bombs and rockets.
Ukraine: Regiment “Azov” in Mariupol requires runner
In addition, photos were shown – apparently of an air-raid shelter on the factory premises with women and children next to clothes hanging between bunks.
In the video, a boy says: “When we film, everything shakes with us”. A woman tells the camera, “Everything has been taken from us. Let’s at least keep something alive.” Prokopenko called on all “civilized countries” to ensure the immediate evacuation and protection of injured civilians and soldiers. The corpses of soldiers were also to be removed from the factory.
Mariupol, in southern Ukraine, has been under lockdown for weeks
Since March 1st, Mariupol has been completely surrounded by Russian troops and is almost completely conquered. More than 100,000 civilians are said to remain in the largely destroyed city. Several attempts by the Ukrainian government to organize an organized evacuation of the city failed.
Azov regiment active in the conflict in Ukraine
The Azov Regiment is one of several paramilitary volunteer battalions fighting in Ukraine’s conflict with Russian troops and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. The association is considered ultranationalist and is highly controversial because of the sometimes overtly right-wing extremist political positions of many of its leaders and relatives. The symbol of the Azov regiment is the wolf stick, which was used by the National Socialists, among others.
Reference to the Azov regiment
Moscow propaganda likes to refer to organizations like the Azov regiment to emphasize the need to “denazify” Ukraine. On the political level, however, right-wing extremists hardly play a role in what is now pro-European Ukraine. The National Corps party did not have great successes in the 2019 parliamentary elections: it received a good two percent of the vote, failed at the five percent barrier and was not represented in parliament.