Conflicts & War

Kyiv claims having foiled another Russian attempt to enter Azovstal

Kyiv, May 13 (EFE).- Russian troops were again unsuccessful in their latest attempt to break into the Azovstal steel plant, in the southern city of Mariupol, where a group of soldiers, the last stronghold of the Ukrainian resistance in the port city, remain entrenched.

“Mariupol. Azovstal. The occupiers try to break into the steelworks on the ground with covering fire. (It’s happening) practically live. The situation becomes more complicated day by day,” Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to Mariupol mayor, posted on Telegram.

Azov Regiment fighters, the ultra-nationalist wing in the army, and their comrades have been defending Mariupol for more than 75 days from the Russians, recalled Andriushchenko.

There are about 600 seriously wounded soldiers in the bunkers of the Azovstal steelworks besieged by the Russians, who are constantly shelling Azovstal with all kinds of weapons, including airplanes and naval artillery, according to state-owned Ukrinform agency.

Although Mariupol has been captured by the Russians, the mayor’s advisor regularly continues to publish information about the situation in the city, which however cannot be independently verified.

Meanwhile, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, said Friday they were seeking to carry out a special evacuation operation from Azovstal with the rescue of severely wounded service members in multiple stages.

Earlier, Ukraine proposed to Russia to exchange seriously wounded Azovstal fighters for Russian prisoners according to the standard rules of prisoner exchange, but did not receive any response.

According to Vereshchuk, it is currently impossible to unblock Azovstal by military means.

Elsewhere, the Ukrainian army claimed having struck another Russian vessel in the Black Sea, near Snake Island.

Odesa Regional Military Administration spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk said on Telegram that the ship was damaged and set on fire by a Ukrainian strike overnight.

“As a result of the actions of our Navy, the Vsevolod Bobrov support ship, one of the newest in the Russian fleet, set on fire. They say she is limping toward Sevastopol,” Bratchuk said.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, in recent weeks, the their Armed Forces lined up or destroyed half a dozen warships and cutters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including the flagship cruiser Moskva, near Snake Island. EFE

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