Struggle at Azovstal fortress

“If there is hell above world hey, it must be Azovstal,” said Mariupol mayor advisor Petro Andriushchenko on the morning of May 5, in the context of Kyiv’s side saying that the factory was under constant fierce attacks overnight.

Smoke rises from the Azovstal Factory on 3/5 Reuters

Dramatic situation

Mariupol is an important port of militaryRussia-Ukraine continues to fight in many places”>Ukraine is located on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.The city was besieged by Russian forces not long after President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation to “demilitarize” On April 21, Russia announced that it had “liberated” Mariupol and Ukrainian forces were only entrenched inside the Azovstal Factory. President Putin then ordered not to attack but besiege the house. machine so that “not a single fly can get through.” However, the Ukrainian side said in the past few days that the attacks have taken place and are increasingly fierce.

CNN quoted Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, commander of Ukraine’s Azov battalion inside Azovstal, as saying that the situation was extremely difficult because of the ongoing fighting after the Russian troops crossed the perimeter of the factory. Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boichenko said tanks, heavy artillery, aircraft and even warships were used to destroy the Azovstal “fortress”. This is the only stronghold that Ukrainian forces still resist in the port city after more than 70 days of fighting.

The United Nations announced on May 4 that more than 300 civilians had been evacuated from Mariupol and parts of southern Ukraine in a Red Cross effort, but none from Azovstal. Earlier, the UN confirmed that it had successfully evacuated more than 100 people from Azovstal. The Russian Defense Ministry yesterday announced that it will cease fire from 8 to 18 hours for 3 days from 5 to 7 May to evacuate civilians from this factory.

The Russian side has so far denied the information about restoring the Azovstal attack. RT quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Ukrainian forces had managed to regain better positions during the pause in fighting for humanitarian operations, but were quickly annihilated by Russia and its allies. .

Strategic Meaning

The complete control Mariupol will help Russia establish a land corridor from the region controlled by Russia and pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass to the Crimean peninsula. Western military analysts point out that it also helps Russia to share forces to other fronts and will be a feat to announce on the anniversary of the victory over fascism in World War 2 on May 9, during context Moscow is said to have not made many decisive steps in the operation in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced yesterday that it had attacked many Ukrainian targets overnight, killing more than 600 members of the Ukrainian forces. Kyiv has not yet commented on this information. In addition, in recent days Russia has repeatedly launched missiles at Ukraine’s railway system, allegedly to prevent Western arms aid, according to Reuters. However, Western officials say that Russian forces are behind schedule in eastern and southern Ukraine due to logistical and morale problems. The American Institute for the Study of War yesterday reported that Russian forces carried out several unsuccessful attacks in 24 hours in eastern Ukraine.