Russian forces storming Mariupol plant: Ukrainian fighters
ZAPORIZHZHIA
Ukrainian defenders of a steel plant in Mariupol say Russian forces have started to storm the last pocket of resistance.
The move comes almost two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military not to storm the plant, but rather block it off.
The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment that is holed up in the Azovstal steel plant confirmed that Russian forces have started to storm the plant on Tuesday.
Asked about reports in Ukrainian media that the plant was being stormed, Sviatoslav Palamar said: “It is true.”
Earlier Tuesday, Mariupol patrol police chief Mykhailo Vershinin was quoted by Ukrainian television as saying that the Russian military “has started to storm the plant in several places.”
Denys Shlega, a commander of a brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard also at Azovstal, also said “the enemy is trying to storm the Azovstal plant with significant forces using armored vehicles."
The reports that the plant is being stormed come after some civilians escaped the plant over the weekend in a U.N.-assisted evacuation effort.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told reporters Tuesday that a few hundred civilians remain at the plant.
