Russian army and DPR militia start Mariupol steelworks assault

The Russian army and the militia of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic have started an assault at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, reports RIA Novosti.

The agency’s reporter has stated that there is gunfire in the area and plumes of smoke are visible. Russia’s Defence Ministry has accused the Ukrainian Army of ceasefire violation. 

“They came out of the basements and set up gun posts within the area. Currently the Russian army alongside the DPR militia are destroying those posts,” reads the ministry’s statement.

The Defence Ministry reported evacuating 126 civilians from the steelworks in recent days. Vadym Boychenko, the city’s mayor, stated that more than 200 civilians are still in the area.

Mariupol was surrounded in the early days of the war and has remained under siege for more than six weeks.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Defence Minister, reported to Vladimir Putin that the Russian army captured Mariupol on 21 April. Putin, in his turn, commanded to cancel the offensive of the Azovstal steel plant deeming it ‘impractical’.