About 200 civilians, including 20 children, remain as refugees at the Azovstal steelworks, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance, in the southeastern city of Mariupol.
The figure was announced this Monday (2) by Denys Shleha, the commander of the 12th Operational Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard. As soon as yesterday’s evacuation was completed, the enemy started using all kinds of weapons. The night was restless,” he said.
The first group of around 100 civilians was evacuated on Sunday 1st after weeks of negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. “I can’t believe it. It’s been dark for two months. We haven’t seen any more sunlight,” survivor Natalia Usmanova said in a BBC video after being rescued from Azovstal.
With an extensive network of tunnels and underground bunkers, the steelworks became a haven for civilians, especially families of metal workers and residents after the Russian occupation began.
Azovstal was again the target of bombings on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials. The site is also home to hundreds of fighters and soldiers from the Azov Battalion, a far-right militia accused by Moscow of neo-Nazism.
The conquest of Mariupol, one of the most important cities in the Donetsk region, was crucial to Russia’s goal of establishing a land corridor between the annexed Crimea and the rebellious areas of eastern Ukraine.
Mariupol City Hall estimates that more than 20,000 people died during the Russian attack on the city.
source: Noticias
