A real ordeal underground. Almost incessant bombardments which are heard “24 hours a day”, even in the cellars, damp and cold. “Terrible conditions”, where there is a crying lack of drinking water, food and medicine. Such is the daily life of the Ukrainians sheltered in the underground passages of the Azovstal steelworks, in Mariupol, described by Serhiy Volyna.
Commander of the 36and brigade of the Ukrainian national navy, it is part of the last bastion of resistance against the Kremlin army in this highly strategic port city, both for kyiv and Moscow. A fierce struggle that forced the Ukrainian forces, outdated and outnumbered, to retreat into the imposing industrial complex. According to kyiv, more than a thousand civilians – in addition to Ukrainian soldiers and foreign mercenaries – have been entrenched there for several days.
“Given the state of these people and the fighters who are here, we can speak of a real humanitarian disaster,” says Serhiy Volyna. The Ukrainian commander spoke for about twenty minutes with The duty, by videoconference, Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day, in a video posted on social networks, he already urged the international community to act urgently to carry out a relief operation: “These may be our last days or our last hours”, had- he then said.
With drawn features and full beard, the one who has been at the front against the Russian invader for more than fifty days recounts the hell of the siege of Mariupol. He estimates that the Russian forces there are ten times more numerous. “The city is destroyed, burned, bombarded. There are currently hundreds of civilians with us [sous terre], including women, children, the elderly. Many are sick or suffer from various injuries. There are no drugs and no way to get medical help. People stay in basements, they rot in the humidity. »
Around him, in the background, we hear regular coughing to which are added at times the crackling and the beep of walkie-talkies. “We lack drinking water, food…”, he continues on the phone, in a surprisingly calm but determined tone. “All the medical supplies we have here are soaking up the humidity underground. They are unusable, the wounds do not heal and instead of healing, the wounds get worse. »
It is a mixture of anguish, human misery and insalubrity. Surrounded by walls where mushrooms proliferate, “living underground in this cold makes everyone sick”, explains Serhiy Volyna. All of this, “while having a minimum amount of food”. Those trying to fall asleep have little choice but to lie down on cardboard. “We sleep on makeshift beds, made from materials found locally. The main thing is not to sleep on the floor and not to contract tuberculosis. »
But to tell the truth, Mr. Volyna sleeps very little. He does not hide the fact that his function as a military officer adds additional pressure to him. “I feel responsible for the civilians and the military stuck here, these guys who are in my custody. »
The last Ukrainian rampart
When asked about the number of soldiers present in the industrial complex extending over 11 km2, Serhiy Volyna refuses to come forward, in the name of military secrecy. “But what I can say is that he has more than 500 wounded combatants and a hundred wounded civilians, including women and children. The situation is only getting worse, with incessant shelling, artillery fire, rocket attacks… The enemy is becoming more aggressive, this involves dozens of tanks and heavy machinery,” he recounts. he, saying his brigade joined forces with the Azov regiment, renowned for its pugnacity but once controversial for its ties to the far right, before the faction joined the Ukrainian armed forces in 2014. The authorities Russians, for their part, estimate the number of Ukrainian soldiers who took refuge in Azovstal at 2,000.
Russian control of the Azovstal site, which adjoins the Sea of Azov, would thus represent the neutralization of the last Ukrainian rampart of the city, already controlled almost entirely by Putin’s army. It would also mean, for Russia, getting its hands on one of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe. A maneuver, however, which is far from won for the Russian forces: the place would be made of sprawling tunnels, already to the advantage of the troops of kyiv. What complicates a potential Russian incursion into the underground. “How to imagine the industrial zone? It’s a city within the city, and there are several underground levels dating from the Soviet period, it’s not possible to bomb from above, you have to clean underground. It will take time, ”admitted a few days ago Eduard Basurin, representative of pro-Russian separatist forces in Donetsk.
On Sunday, Mariupol’s last defenders ignored calls to surrender to Russian authorities. An ultimatum enjoining them to “lay down their arms” had been issued shortly before by Russia. Enough to fear a major offensive. Except that four days later, Thursday April 21, President Vladimir Putin chose to rule out giving the final assault on the Azovstal factory, judging it “not appropriate” in the context. “We must preserve the life and health of our soldiers and officers. It is not useful to enter these catacombs and crawl under these industrial installations”, he justified. Rather, the Russian autocrat declared the need to besiege “the area in such a way that not a single fly would pass”, or to maintain the encirclement of the Ukrainian positions. Before adding, without embarrassment, that in Mariupol, pounded relentlessly since the beginning of the war, “the work of liberation is a success”.
In the air as on the ground, in Mariupol, the Russian enemy “dominates at all levels”, regrets Serhiy Volyna. “Our men are losing their lives everywhere and all the time. We don’t have anti-aircraft equipment, we don’t have any equipment, we’ve stuck to light weapons, with our modest grenade launcher units. »
Last chance solution
So how long can Serhiy Volyna and the hundreds of people trapped underground survive? “Circumstances are changing very quickly, and this, to our disadvantage,” replies the soldier. “It is for this reason that I would not dare to speak of days, it is perhaps a question of hours. The situation is critical and we are asking the leaders of the international community for help. We are constantly suffering losses, we have soldiers killed and wounded, and that is why we cannot speak of positive progress. We are all weakened. »
As for the hopes that corridors for civilians will be deployed, they remain in vain for the moment. “You know, today [mercredi 20 avril], a corridor for civilians was supposed to be established, but in reality this failed, as Russian forces continued to bombard from the air and naval artillery rockets continued to fall. Civilians no longer believe the Russians since the destruction of the maternity ward where there were babies, families, women giving birth. There was also the bombardment of the theater of Mariupol, in which was located a center of volunteers, where the children were gathered”, specifies the commander Volyna. “It is for this reason that civilians turn to us and implore us to call for help from the international community, which could provide them with security. They have lost all confidence in the Russian Federation. »
The last chance solution, according to him, lies in the establishment of an extraction procedure which would consist of “evacuating them to the territory of a third country”. And this, regardless of the state, adds Serhiy Volyna. “He will just have to be able to find an agreement between the parties to the conflict and ensure security. »
Like a cry from the heart, he calls on the international community to take action. Because “we consider that this extraction procedure is the only possible outcome for us”, he thinks. “It is a call to world leaders, to the diplomatic society, to religious leaders. It must be said loud and clear: here, civilians are deprived of their fundamental right to protection. Civilians are killed by the Russians. Our people need the help of the world. »
Serhiy Volyna remains optimistic despite everything. Hope is also what “allows us to hold on”, he admits. “We are now completely surrounded by the Russians. We just have to hope that help arrives, that we are not forgotten. Ending up lonely and resigning oneself to a face-to-face with the invader: the worst-case scenario for the survivors of Mariupol.