Conflicts & War

Azov commander in Mariupol vows to fight Russians to the end

Kyiv, May 8 (EFE).- Troops from Ukraine’s Azov unit holding out in the Azovstal steelworks in the besieged city of Mariupol will fight the Russian forces to the end, the commander of the ultranationalist group said Sunday.

In a video message posted on Telegram, Sviatoslav Palomar also appealed the evacuation of wounded soldiers.

“We will continue to fight as long as we are alive,” Palomar said in the video that was apparently shot from inside the steel factory.

Azov soldiers continue to resist the Russian offensive, following the Saturday evacuation of women, children and elderly people who were taking refuge in the facility.

In recent hours, Russian troops have intensified their bombing of the steel plant but nine of the attacks were repelled overnight, according to the Ukrinform news agency.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday that the evacuation of Ukrainian civilians from Azovstal had been completed.

Since then, it has been feared that Russian troops would launch a final assault against the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol.

On Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy estimated that about 300 people had been pulled out of the steel plant during the past days, adding that work is underway to get the citizens and the wounded out of Mariupol.EFE

int-gc-ie/smq/jt

Related Articles

Back to top button