Improvised clotheslines, memorials to dead heroes and “beds” made from wooden pallets reveal the almost unfathomable conditions the defenders of the Azovstal Steelworks survived in war-torn Mariupol in eastern Ukraine.
New images show the dinghy rooms where thousands of the plant’s fearsome Ukrainian soldiers lived – many of whom died. According to reports, about 2,500 are currently being tortured by Putin’s forces.
The huge industrial complex east of the port on the Sea of Azov in the heart of the Donbass was the scene of the most intense fighting of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For months, Russian missiles and artillery hit the megafactory.
The siege of Mariupol, which killed an estimated 6,000 Ukrainians and 4,000 Russians, began on February 24, the first day of Putin’s invasion.
Makeshift living quarters deep within the Azovstal Steelworks east of Mariupol show signs of stubborn resistance from its defenders
An occupying Russian soldier looks at the piles of belongings, including clothes and boots, left behind by evacuees
Invading Russian soldiers seem to have put a picture of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on a dartboard
It finally ended on May 20 – two months, three weeks and five days later.
Ever since Russian soldiers finally took “full control” of the steelworks, how thousands of civilians and Ukrainian militants lived deep inside has been a mystery.
Now photographers can finally wander into his heart again, albeit with the permission of the Russian occupiers.
It’s not difficult to tell which accessories predate the Russian takeover and which came after. A dartboard with the face of President Zelenskyy, for example, was certainly not placed there by the Ukrainian defenders of Azovstal.
Signs surrounded by mugs and dirty bowls read “Heroes Don’t Die” with the faces of slain soldiers of the Azov regiment
A small mirror, a portable drinking cup, plug adapters and other goodies are placed on a bed of wooden pallets in the Azov Valley
Outside, the crumbling steel mill barely stands still after nearly three months of intense Russian bombardment
Formerly a steel mill employing more than 12,000 people, Azovstal has become a haven and strategic hub for Ukraine
Posters with the faces of killed Ukrainian soldiers with the headline “Heroes don’t die” have not been added either.
According to the former commander of the Ukrainian Azov National Guard, dozens of bodies still lie there.
Maksym Zhorin said on Sunday that according to the terms of a recent exchange, around 220 bodies of those killed in Azovstal had already been sent to Kyiv – but “just as many bodies still remain in Mariupol”.
He said in a video posted to Telegram: “Discussions continue for more exchanges to bring all the bodies back home. Absolutely all bodies must be returned and we will work on that.”
A Russian soldier walks down a dark corridor with empty shelves. Mariupol is now part of the Donetsk People’s Republic
A journalist holds up a picture of a Ukrainian soldier found in the rubble of the steel mill – his fate remains unknown
A Russian naval ship leaves the port of Mariupol and enters the Sea of Azov: in the background the destroyed Azovstal Steelworks
Zhorin added that a third of the dead belonged to the Azov battalion, while the others belonged to border guard and naval officers, as well as the police.
Hundreds of militants holed up at the steel mill were taken into Russian custody in mid-May, but many were killed in Russian attacks on the plant and the city of Mariupol.
The bodies are such that “it will take a very long time to personally identify each person,” Zhorin added.
DNA tests and soldiers’ uniforms and badges would be used to help with identification, he said.
After months of bombing Russia, Mariupol is now little more than a wasteland.
Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers have been evacuated to safety deep underground at the steelworks amid the Russian siege
A Russian soldier shines his flashlight on a notebook left in the living room by a Ukrainian soldier
A makeshift clothesline is pictured on the corner of a cramped living room. How many men lived there is unclear
Putin’s troops also blocked any humanitarian aid from reaching the city, exacerbating food shortages inside the steel mill and in the surrounding areas.
Civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were finally allowed to leave the site unharmed after weeks of negotiations led by the UN and the Red Cross.
But not all of the Steelworks’ brave defenders made it out of the tunnels under the rubble.
And at least for now, maybe hundreds will stay there.
Not all of the steel mill’s brave defenders made it out of the tunnels under the rubble of the strategic steel mill
Around 12,000 people used to work in the steel mill, which became a shelter for civilians and soldiers after the war began
Panzerfausts and rocket-propelled grenades are depicted alongside personal belongings and boots in a living room
A Russian soldier escorting photographers through the facility earlier this morning needed his flashlight to navigate the maze
The man, whose “Z” logo on his arm signified his affiliation with the military, had to exercise caution around survivors
Ukraine has indicated that up to 2,500 Azovstal defenders will be captured and tortured by Russia
Thousands dead and roadside graves strewn with corpses: the bloody battle for Mariupol
Aslin and Pinner were captured by Russian forces during the long and bloody Siege of Mariupol.
The city is now entirely in the hands of Russian forces, having been cut off from the rest of Ukraine and subjected to terrible barrages and a siege at the start of the war.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians fought bitterly to defend the city’s Azovstal Steelworks, a key strategic supply point, from Russian invaders.
But despite their valiant efforts, Putin’s forces took control of Azovstal after evacuating civilians two weeks ago.
Up to 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers stayed behind – with Kyiv claiming its troops are now being tortured with pincers and electric shocks.
Civilians used to be without heat, food or water for weeks and described melting snow to get a drink before drinking from radiators when the snow ran out.
Mariupol was the scene of perhaps the deadliest single attack of the war when a Russian plane bombed a theater with the word “Children” scrawled on the sidewalk outside, killing up to 600 people taking shelter inside.
Thousands are known to have died in the siege, and their bodies were often piled in mass graves hastily dug beside roads.
But the real toll is believed to be much higher, as many families are forced to bury relatives killed by the shelling on plots dug in gardens and parks without an account being taken.
City officials estimate at least 20,000 civilians died, but others who remain behind Russian lines in the city and are now helping to dig graves said last week the true figure could be as high as 50,000.
Mariupol’s pre-war population was about 450,000, meaning more than 10 percent could have been wiped out.