the Azovstal factory, the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol

It is the last bastion of resistance in the port of Mariupol (Ukraine): the Azovstal factory is the target of bombs. Two to three thousand Ukrainian soldiers are said to have taken refuge there in underground passages, without supplies for several weeks. They are surrounded by Chechen mercenaries and pro-Russian separatists. “[Les soldats ukrainiens] move there, from one building to another. We isolate them together. And little by little the factory is being taken“says one of these separatist soldiers.

The fighting resounds day and night in the deserted streets of Mariupol. This siege mobilizes Russian forces as another offensive is being prepared in the Donbass. According to the Ukrainian authorities, 20,000 people are said to have died, and 90% of the houses are destroyed. This is where chemical weapons would have been used. If the factory falls, Mariupol falls with it.