New pictures show the dinghies where the thousands of frightened Ukrainian soldiers of the factory lived – many of whom died. Some 2,500 are reportedly being tortured by Putin’s forces. The huge industrial complex east of the Sea of Azov port in the heart of Donbass was the site of the fiercest fighting of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian rockets and artillery hit the mega-factory for months. The siege of Mariupol, which killed some 6,000 Ukrainians and 4,000 Russians, began on February 24, the first day of Putin’s invasion. The makeshift living spaces deep inside the Azovstal steel plant, east of Mariupol, show signs of fierce resistance from its defenders. A Russian occupation soldier looks down at piles of items, including clothes and boots, left behind by displaced people. Occupying Russian soldiers appear to have placed an image of Ukrainian President Zelensky on an arrow It finally ended on May 20 – two months, three weeks and five days later. Ever since Russian troops finally took full control of the steel plant, the way in which thousands of civilians and Ukrainian fighters have lived deep inside has been a mystery. Now photographers can finally wander back to his heart, albeit with the permission of the Russian occupiers. It is not difficult to say which accessories came before the acquisition by Russia and which came after. An arrow in the face of President Zelensky, for example, was certainly not put there by the Ukrainian defenders of Azovstal. Card plates surrounded by mugs and dirty bowls read “Heroes do not die”, with the faces of slain Azov soldiers killed. A small mirror, a portable glass, plug-in adapters and other snacks sit on a wooden pallet bed in Azovstal Outside, steel plant barely standing after nearly three months of intense Russian bombing Formerly a steelworks employing more than 12,000 people, Azovstal became a refuge and strategic hub for Ukraine Also, the posters with the faces of the killed Ukrainian soldiers, with the caption “Heroes do not die”, are also not new additions. According to the former commander of the Ukrainian National Guard of Azov, dozens of bodies are still there. Maksym Zhorin said on Sunday that under the terms of a recent exchange, about 220 bodies of those killed in Azovstal had already been sent to Kyiv – but “all the bodies still remain in Mariupol”. In a video posted to the Telegram, he said: “Talks are continuing for further exchanges, to return all the bodies to their homeland. “Absolutely all the bodies must be returned and that is something we will work for.” A Russian soldier wanders in a dark corridor with empty shelves. Mariupol is now part of the Donetsk People’s Republic A journalist holds up a photo of a Ukrainian soldier found in the wreckage of a steel plant – his fate remains unclear A Russian warship leaves the port of Mariupol and travels to the Sea of Azov: in the background, damaged Azovstal steel plant Zorin added that a third of the dead were from the Azov Battalion, while the rest belonged to border patrol and naval officers, as well as police. Hundreds of fighters trapped in the steel plant were arrested in Russia in mid-May, but many were killed during Russian attacks on the factory and the city of Mariupol. The bodies are in such a way that “it will take a long time for each person to be identified personally,” Zhorin added. DNA tests and military uniforms and insignia will be used to help identify, he said. Mariupol is now more than a desert after months of Russian bombing. Thousands of Ukrainians and military were held safe in the basement of a steel plant during the Russian siege. A Russian soldier shines his torch on what appears to be a notebook left behind by a Ukrainian soldier in the living room An improvised washing line is depicted in the corner of a narrow living room. It is not clear how many men lived there Putin’s forces also blocked any humanitarian aid from entering the city, exacerbating food shortages inside and around the steel plant. Civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were finally allowed to leave the area safely after weekly UN-led and Red Cross-led negotiations. But not all the brave defenders of the steel industry managed to get out of the tunnels under the rubble. And at least for now, maybe hundreds will stay there. Not all the brave defenders of the steel industry managed to get out of the tunnels under the wreckage of the strategic steel industry About 12,000 people worked in the steelworks, which became a refuge for civilians and soldiers after the start of the war. Bazooka and rocket-propelled grenade launchers are depicted next to personal items and boots in a living space A Russian soldier accompanying photographers around the factory earlier today needed his torch to navigate the maze The man, whose “Z” logo on his arm made his military faith clear, had to be careful in case of survivors Ukraine has suggested that there are up to 2,500 Azovstal defenders who have been captured and tortured by Russia
Thousands dead and roadside graves stacked with corpses: The bloody battle for Mariupol
Aslin and Piner were captured by Russian forces during the long and bloody siege of Mariupol. The city is now completely in the hands of Russian forces, having been cut off from the rest of Ukraine at the beginning of the war and subjected to terrifying dams and siege. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians fought hard to defend the Azovstal steel plant, a key strategic supply point, from Russian invaders. But despite their valiant efforts, Putin’s forces took control of Azovstal two weeks ago after evacuating civilians. About 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers were left behind – with Kyiv claiming its troops were now being tortured with pliers and electric shocks. Civilians had previously been left without heat, food or water for weeks and described melting snow to have a drink before drinking from the radiators when it snowed. Mariupol was the scene of perhaps the deadliest single attack of the war, when a Russian jet bombed a theater with the word “children” engraved on the sidewalk outside, killing up to 600 people inside a shelter. Thousands are known to have been killed in the siege, with their bodies often stacked in mass graves dug hastily along roads. But the real toll is believed to be much higher, as many families are forced to bury relatives killed by bombings on plots of land dug in gardens and parks with no records recorded. City officials estimate that at least 20,000 civilians have been killed, but others who remain in the city behind Russian lines and now assist in digging graves said last week that the actual death toll could reach 50,000. The pre-war population of Mariupol was about 450,000, which means that more than 10 percent could have been wiped out.
