At least 5 Belarusians are defending Azovstal in Mariupol

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO —  FRIDAY, 6 MAY 2022, 14:23

At least 5 Belarusians are defending the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Source: representatives of Kastuś Kalinoŭski battalion, on air of Belsat

Details: Representatives of the Belarusian battalion said that they last contacted the fighters 4 days ago. According to the soldiers, the defenders’ morale is good, they are joking a lot: "They say that they are under siege and they can shoot in any direction."

"They are successfully fighting and not only defending, but also making raids to meet the enemy. This is not just a positional war, but a tactical war, [with the aim of] destroying enemies on the streets of the city,"  said the battalion's spokesman Yan Melnykov.

At the same time, Azovstal defenders are running out of weapons, food and drinking water. The military says nearly 80 percent of the defenders are wounded.

The Belarusian military says that the situation in Mariupol is a stalemate. According to them, it is impossible to talk about lifting the blockade now, because Ukraine still does not have the necessary artillery and air defenсe. Another difficulty is that the city is close to the border with Russia, and Mariupol remains blockaded by Russian ships in the Black Sea, preventing support reaching the defenders of the city.

Read more: We don't need words, we need actions. What mothers and wives of Azovstal defenders say