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Ukraine War: 20 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel mill

2022-05-01T03:01:08.031Z


Ukraine War: 20 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel mill Created: 05/01/2022 04:51 By: Lucas Maier The Ukrainian war shows its worst side in Mariupol. In videos from the Azovstal steelworks, those trapped are now calling for help. Update from April 30, 10:10 p.m .: According to Ukrainian information, 20 civilians left the heavily contested Azov steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mar


Ukraine War: 20 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel mill

Created: 05/01/2022 04:51

By: Lucas Maier

The Ukrainian war shows its worst side in Mariupol.

In videos from the Azovstal steelworks, those trapped are now calling for help.

Update from April 30, 10:10 p.m .:

According to Ukrainian information, 20 civilians left the heavily contested Azov steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday to be taken to safety.

The people, including women and children, were taken to an agreed location, "and we hope that they will be taken to Zaporizhia in Ukraine-controlled territory," Azov regiment deputy commander Svyatoslav Palamar said in a statement Telegram published video.

During a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the UN was doing "everything" to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the steelworks.

Last week, Russia declared that, with the exception of the steel works, it had gained complete control over the strategically important port city in south-eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin then ordered a siege of the industrial site.

In addition to Ukrainian soldiers, hundreds of civilians are said to be in the complex.

Ukraine War: At least 20 civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel mill

Update from April 30, 6:30 p.m.:

According to reports from Russian news agencies, 25 civilians have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol.

Tass and Ria Nowosti reported that six children were among the rescued, citing their respective correspondents.

The Azov regiment speaks of 20 civilians who left the plant for evacuation.

The information could not be checked independently.

According to Ukrainian information, a total of around 1,000 civilians are said to have sought refuge in the bunkers of the steelworks - and are now trapped.

Russia, on the other hand, speaks of around 2,500 Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries who are also said to have holed up there.

So far, they have refused to surrender and give up the strategically important city on the Azov Sea, most of which has already been taken by the Russians.

Mediated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Kyiv and Moscow recently agreed to set up a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee.

So far, however, there have been no major evacuation successes

View of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, which was damaged in the Ukraine war.

Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters and civilians are holding out here - Russian troops are besieging the plant.

© Peter Kovalev/Imago

Ukraine War: Civilians hold out at Azovstal plant

First report from April 30, 10:18 a.m.:

Mariupol - damp, dark and cramped: The bunkers of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol are anything but designed for a permanent stay.

Numerous civilians, including many children, have been staying there for weeks.

Russia repeatedly attacks the steelworks in south-eastern Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin's troops drop bombs over the vast compound.

Special forces have tried to storm the plant several times, but so far without success.

So far, the Ukrainian soldiers have not complied with calls to surrender.

But the situation is getting worse, as videos show.

Many of them are circulating on Telegram, among others.

War in Ukraine: Soldiers release videos from the bunkers

The last independent journalists left Mariupol around a month and a half ago due to the poor security situation.

In various videos from the Azovstal bunkers, people keep calling for help.

These are shared by the Azov battalion.

Most of the trapped soldiers belonged to the Azov regiment.

Azov regiment

The Azov Battalion is part of the Ukrainian Army.

The combat association is repeatedly criticized for its right-wing extremist attitude.

The political orientation is already reflected in the battalion's coat of arms.

This one features a black sun: a symbol used by right-wing extremists around the world.

It also shows a wolf rod.

A symbol formerly used by the SS.

There are also countless right-wing extremism allegations against the battalion.

At the beginning of the Ukraine war, however, the task force is said to have published a paper that names the crimes of the Holocaust as such, but this has not yet been verified.

The Azov regiment was founded as a volunteer combat unit in 2014.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, was recently criticized for supporting the ultra-right Azov regiment.

The videos not only show the catastrophic conditions in the bunkers.

They also show the people trapped crying for help: they are turning to the world population with a request for evacuation.

In addition to the New York Times, numerous other international media report this.

An aerial view of the steel mill site in Mariupol.

© Maxar Technologies/AFP

Ukraine war: Last bastion of Mariupol - evacuations have failed so far

However, it remains questionable whether an evacuation will take place.

There have already been several attempts to set up escape corridors from Mariupol.

They all failed.

So far there has been heavy fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies on the evacuation routes.

There was no guarantee of safety there.

A temporarily agreed cease-fire was interrupted.

It ended in mutual finger pointing.

"It's damp and moldy everywhere, the children sleep on jackets.

We had to make diapers out of plastic bags.”

Mother in steel mill bunker according to New York Times

In one of the videos, many children can be seen, a girl grins at the camera and says: "We want to see the sunshine".

In the same video, a young mother describes the catastrophic situation in the bunker.

Not even the laundry dries here because it's so damp, she complains.

This is not a good place for children, emphasizes another mother, they cannot learn here and have no prospects, she continues.

War in Ukraine: Many injured in Mariupol bunkers

But not only children suffer from the situation in the Mariupol steelworks.

There are also many injured people in the bunkers, as can be seen in the videos.

Recordings published on social networks show poorly treated wounds.

As early as Tuesday (April 26), the Azov regiment said 500 were injured in the bunkers.

Their authenticity could not be verified any more than the videos of the Azov regiment.

However, it remains to be seen whether further rescue attempts will be made from the Mariupol steelworks.

(lm)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-05-01

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