Ukrainian defenders are fighting “bloody battles” inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks against Russian forces, an Azov regiment commander has said.
In a brief video message posted to Telegram late on Wednesday, Denis Prokopenko said: “I am proud of my soldiers who are making superhuman efforts to contain the pressure of the enemy ... the situation is extremely difficult.”
It follows reports from the city’s mayor earlier that fighting has continued around the sprawling plant in Ukraine’s besieged southern port city.
The vast structure is the last stronghold of the Ukrainian defence forces in the region and an estimated 200 civilians are estimated to be taking shelter there underground from the Russian bombardment. Meanwhile, another 100,000 are thought to still be inside in Mariupol as a whole.
On Tuesday, more than 100 civilians managed to leave the plant and arrived safely in Zaporizhzhia.
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But the city’s mayor Vadym Boichenko said contact has now been lost with the defenders inside the the steel plant.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s defence ministry said Moscow was attempting to up the intensity of its military operations in eastern Ukraine.
Disturbing reports of unrelenting Russian aggression at the Azovstal plant follow claims from Russian forces that it will open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to leave the facility over the next three days.
Posting on Wednesday, military officials said the corridors would be open from 8am to 6pm local time.
They also claimed that, for the duration of these windows, Moscow’s forces would cease any military activity and withdraw units to a safe distance.
UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, said more than 300 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol and other areas in southern Ukraine as part of an operation with the Red Cross that concluded on Wednesday.
In his nightly video address, Volodymyr Zelensky said the initial evacuations were “not a victory yet, but it’s already a result,” adding: “I believe there’s still a chance to save other people.”
In a statement shared by Mr Zelensky’s office on Wednesday evening, the president was quoted as asking United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres for help to save those trapped in the Mariupol steel mill.
“The lives of the people who remain there are in danger. Everyone is important to us. We ask for your help in saving them.”
It follows the UK’s most recent intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - claiming that Russia is continuing to hit non-military targets, such as residential properties and transport hubs, in a bid to weaken the country’s resolve.
Defence officials also said that, despite Moscow’s ground operations focusing on Ukraine’s eastern regions, missile strikes continued across the country as Putin’s forces sought to hamper Ukrainian resupply efforts.
“As Russian operations have faltered, non-military targets including schools, hospitals, residential properties and transport hubs have continued to be hit, indicating Russia’s willingness to target civilian infrastructure in an attempt to weaken Ukrainian resolve,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reads.
“The continued targeting of key cities such as Odessa, Kherson and Mariupol highlights their desire to fully control access to the Black Sea, which would enable them to control Ukraine’s sea lines of communication, negatively impacting their economy.”
