According to Ukrainian sources, the Russian military continued its offensive on the Mariupol steelworks on Friday. The Russian armed forces had “restarted operations to take control of the factory in some areas with the support of the air force,” the Defense Ministry said in Kyiv.
Russia had actually announced a three-day ceasefire for evacuation operations from the industrial complex on Wednesday evening. Ukraine, however, accused Russia of violating it. The Kremlin denied the allegations – although the shelling and explosions were clearly visible on video footage.
Authorities in Mariupol accused Russian forces of firing at a car involved in evacuation efforts, sources said. One Ukrainian fighter was killed and six others injured. According to Ukrainian sources, UN-led operations in the past few days have succeeded in evacuating almost 500 civilians from the city and the steelworks. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk, another 50 were taken out of the industrial complex on Friday.
Unclear situation in the steel mill
On Thursday, it was said from Kyiv that Russian troops had penetrated the site of the besieged steelworks. “The enemy, with the support of the air force, renewed its attack with the aim of taking control of the factory area,” the Ukrainian General Staff said.
It is also unclear how many Ukrainian fighters have entrenched themselves in the steelworks and how many civilians are also holding out there. Under the steelworks there is a huge corridor and bunker system from Soviet times.
In recent weeks there had been increasingly dramatic calls for help from the steelworks: food and drinking water were running out, and there was also a shortage of medicine. External communication also broke down at times. However, the Ukrainian fighters categorically ruled out a task.
Shocking descriptions
Civilians who were able to evacuate the steelworks in the past few days also described a shocking picture from the inside. “We were under constant fire, slept in makeshift beds, and were thrown to the ground by the explosions,” said one young mother.
“Mothers, children and grandparents have spoken of the trauma of living under relentless shelling and fear of death day following day,” said Osnat Lubrani, the UN Office for Emergency Relief (OCHA) Ukraine representative. There was hardly any water or food in the steelworks and only completely inadequate sanitary facilities. People have gone through hell. Russia, on the other hand, accuses Ukraine of having held people once morest their will as protective shields in the branched cellars of the plant.
Success wanted for May 9th
At the weekend, Russia approved major rescue operations for civilians from the steelworks in the direction of Ukrainian-held territory for the first time. Observers saw this as a sign that Russia might prepare to storm the site. According to British intelligence experts, the Russian army has to pay for this with high losses of soldiers, material and ammunition – and above all for a symbolic victory.
For weeks it has been said that Russia wants to celebrate a success on May 9th, the anniversary of the victory over Hitler’s Germany. Since other successes are rare, it might just be the capture of the steel mill and thus of the whole of Mariupol. After Cherson in the south, it would be the second city that Russia can take control of.
Symbolic “denazification”
Mariupol is well suited as a symbolic victory insofar as the steelworks is defended primarily by fighters from the Azov regiment. The former militia has been part of the Ukrainian National Guard for a number of years, but is considered a gathering place for right-wing extremists. The Azov movement is one of the main nationalist and right-wing extremist groups in Ukraine. The “liberation” of Mariupol would therefore fit into the Kremlin’s rhetoric of “denazification” of Ukraine – even if, according to media observers in Russia, this slogan is being used less and less.
Parade also in Mariupol?
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak speculates that celebrations and parades will not only be held in Russian cities on Monday, but also in Mariupol – and he fears that the Russian attackers might march Ukrainian prisoners to mark the occasion. Pro-Russian separatists acted similarly in eastern Ukraine in 2014 following taking the city of Donetsk.
“They marched soldiers of the Ukrainian army through the streets and threw garbage at them,” Podoliak said, referring to the events of 2014 on Friday. “Eight years later, the Kremlin decided to reenact May 9 in Mariupol with civilians in military uniforms.” In the Mariupol area, the street signs written in Ukrainian and English have now been replaced by Russian ones.
