in Azovstal, the last stand of the Ukrainians

These are the broken faces of the war in Ukraine. Damaged faces, bruised bodies, men amputated with an arm, a leg. Others try to heal their wounds with the little medical equipment they can find. All are holed up in the basements of the Azovstal factory in Mariupol (Ukraine), bombed by the Russians. After more than two months of fierce resistance, there are believed to be nearly a thousand refugee fighters.

They are convinced that death is their only way out. “We are suffering heavy losses, every day could be the last, we have extremely limited resources. For now, the outcome may be our imminent death”, confides Ilya Samoilenko, Ukrainian lieutenant of the Azov regiment. Impossible to know the identity of the soldiers, their number. In addition to the wounded, dozens of fighters are said to have already died in the basements of the factory.