Mariupol: Several hundred civilians are sheltering at Azovstal plant
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022, 8:51 p.m.
According to Mykhailo Vershinin, the head of the Mariupol patrol police, a few hundred civilians are sheltering on the territory of the Azovstal plant.
Source: Mykhailo Vershinin, "Suspilne".
Quote: "As for the civilians who are at Azovstal now... Earlier, before the intensification of hostilities, there were about a thousand people here. Now there are fewer people here, several hundred of them. But there are people with children. There is a video about them, it’s already being broadcast.
They live as a sort of [separate] commune; though if they ask for help, they receive it. When the military stays together with civilians, it makes civilians a military target [for the enemy], so [they] don’t stick together (military and civilians - ed.) We are all living in extremely austere conditions. But there are [civilian] people here and there are children. There are families of [our] soldiers as well. So to surrender themselves to the [Russian soldiers] is not really an option for them. Some people say they will only [evacuate] to Ukraine".
Details: According to Vershinin, explosions in the city are heard more often than not, and the shelling continues all the time.
Quote: "It’s a rare occasion when we DON'T hear the explosions. It [strikes] almost all the time, at everyone. It’s like a loop. The plane comes, then the ship's artillery fires, then the MLRS (multiple rocket launcher - ed.), then the plane comes again, the second barrage nearby, then the artillery again. Here a bunch of everything is falling on our heads. So the shelling almost never stops".
Background:
- Mariupol has been under siege since March 1. On April 12, some of the Marines were able to break through from the Ilyich plant to join forces with Azov Regiment at the Azovstal plant, and some were taken prisoner by Russians.
- The Russian army is strikeing Azovstal with aerial bombs. On April 19, Svyatoslav Palamar (Kalyna), deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, said that the Azovstal plant had been almost completely destroyed and that the Ukrainian soldiers were pulling people out from under the rubble.
- On April 19, the Russian Defense Ministry asked Ukrainian defenders stationed at Azovstal for at least the third time to lay down their arms and surrender.
