Active combat continues on the territory of the Azovstal steel works plant in Ukraine’s Mariupol, the Ukrainian Azov regiment informed on Thursday evening.
Svyatoslav Palamar, Azov deputy commander, told Yulia Latynina, a columnist with Novaya Gazeta. Europe, on the evening of May 5: “Heavy fighting continues. Many are injured. I don’t know how long we’ll hold on. Maybe a day or two. I don’t know. Tomorrow, the UN may come to take the civilians. We are asking them to take our injured. Clearly, the government has done nothing to keep the soldiers alive, but at least if we evacuate all civilians from here, then we can die with a clear conscience. But we will fight. What else can we do?”
On Wednesday, Ukrayinska Pravda reported that contact with Ukrainian servicemen remaining on Azovstal had been lost. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, stated that the Russian army was not assaulting the plant, claiming that the Russian troops are suppressing the militants’ attempts to take up positions.
The UN has led an effort to evacuate civilians from the plant since April 29.
On the evening of May 5, the UN launched a third operation to evacuate civilians from Mariupol.