The "Azovstal" steelworks near Mariupol is a picture of utter devastation almost six months after the battle ended with the capture of the factory by Russian forces.
The video prepared by residents of the now Russian-occupied city shows a tragic picture of ruins and abandonment.
The camera is inside a car moving around the perimeter of the facility. Everywhere you can see buildings that have been destroyed. Pylons, bridges and power poles have fallen, cranes, cars and other vehicles are badly damaged. There is even an abandoned tank.
The steelworks had been the focus of one of the fiercest clashes in the first phase of the war, when Russia was occupying eastern provinces of Ukraine, as well as Mariupol.
Some 2,500 Ukrainian fighters, mostly from the Azov battalion, were locked inside the factory in a desperate attempt to keep it from falling into enemy hands. With them were many civilians in the basements of the facility.
Those who had taken refuge in "Azovstal" lived in darkness with basic sanitary conditions absent, with little heat and food, and the agony for their lives was constant.
Hundreds of fighters and civilians were killed during the siege.
Hundreds of fighters and civilians were killed during the siege. Many hundreds more surrendered when the fighting ended in mid-May. Many have since been released - a final group of about 30 fighters a few days ago.
After the siege ended, Mikhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zhelensky, said Mariupol would be remembered "like the Thermopylae of the 21st century," adding that "Azovstal" changed the course of the war.
Ukraine has pledged to occupy all territory currently held by Russian forces and has largely succeeded in the north and east. Mariupol is one of the next cities where we should expect the Ukrainian counterattack - if all goes well for Kiev.
Source.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
