FILE PHOTO – A view shows a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 22, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
April 24 – Russian forces tried to storm the Ukrainian-held Azovstal steelworks in the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said despite comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week that the complex would not be taken must.
The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces wrote on Facebook that Russian forces were firing and conducting “offensive operations” in the Azov valley region, as well as conducting airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.
Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Naval Brigade in Mariupol, said in an interview with an opposition lawmaker shown on YouTube on Sunday that Russia was hitting the complex with air and artillery bombardments.
“We’re taking casualties, the situation is critical… we have a lot of wounded, (some) are dying, it’s a difficult (situation) with weapons, ammunition, food, medicine… the situation is rapidly deteriorating,” Volyna said, speaking of his location in the factory.
Konstantin Ivaschenko, the official appointed by Russia as mayor of Mariupol but not recognized as such by Ukraine, denied fighting had taken place in the city in comments reported by Russia’s TASS news agency on Sunday.
Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian or Russian accounts.
The Azovstal Steel Plant is the main remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, a city that has faced sustained bombardment since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Earlier Sunday, Ukraine’s presidential aide Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook that “Russian troops are trying to finish off Azovstal’s defenders and more than 1,000 civilians hiding in the complex.”
Russia has denied targeting civilians as part of a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine.
Later Sunday, in a video address released by the President’s Office, Arestovych said Ukraine was offering Russia a “special” round of talks to be held in Mariupol to discuss the fate of civilians and Ukrainian troops still trapped in the city are.
Arestovych said the talks would aim to establish an immediate ceasefire in Mariupol, “multi-day” humanitarian corridors and the liberation or exchange of Ukrainian fighters trapped at the Azovstal facility.
Russian troops surrounded the Azovstal plant in early March and gradually took control of most of the town.
Last Thursday, Putin declared that Mariupol was “liberated” and publicly called on his defense minister to call off the storming of the Azovstal plant in order to save the lives of Russian soldiers. Putin said the facility should be “locked down” instead.
Reporting by Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder Editing by Mark Heinrich and Frances Kerry