A Ukrainian commander has said forces in Mariupol “will not lay down our weapons” as fighting against Russian forces continues – as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed Ukraine would have “ended the war” by now if they had enough weapons.
Major Serhiy Volyna, of the 36th separate marine brigade, said his soldiers at the Azovstal steel plant would continue “to conduct combat operations and to complete our military tasks as long as we receive them”.
In a video sent to The Washington Post, the commander also asked world leaders to help secure the safety of people leaving Mariupol.
He said: “This is our address to the world. This could be our last message. We might only have a few days or even hours remaining.
“Enemy forces are 10 times bigger than ours. They have control over the air, artillery, on-ground, tanks and vehicle superiority.
“We’re defending one object, the plant where Mariupol military garrison and civilians caught up by the war are located.
“We’re addressing the world leaders to help us. We’re asking you to use the extraction procedure on us, and take us to the territory of a third country.”
Major Volyna continued: “Mariupol military garrison has more than 500 wounded soldiers, and hundreds of civilians, including women and children.
“We’re asking to provide us safety on the third country territory.”
The mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boichenko said, said on Wednesday that around 100,000 thousand civilians remain in the city, adding he hopes 90 buses will be sent to the besieged port city to evacuate about 6,000 women, children and elderly people.
Russia said on Tuesday that some 120 civilians living next to the Azovstal plant had been evacuated.
Russia has again given the remaining troops an ultimatum to surrender with an apparent ceasefire offer – but Sky’s Deborah Haynes, in Ukraine, says this looks set to be rejected once more.
Russian troops reposition in east
Russia has recently started repositioning and reinforcing its troops in the east of Ukraine after failing to take control of the capital, Kyiv.
If successful, the Russian offensive, in what is known as the Donbas, would essentially slice Ukraine in two and give Russia’s President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory.
But according to the MoD, Russia’s ability to progress continues to be affected by “logistical and technical challenges”, as well as the “resilience of the highly-motivated Ukrainian armed forces”.
Ukrainian commander issues what could be ‘final message’ from steel plant
One of the areas that has been targeted is the eastern city of Kharkiv, where at least four people were killed and 14 wounded during a shelling attack on Tuesday night.
Kharkiv ‘will not fall to Russia’
However, the head of Ukraine’s security service said the region will not fall into Russian hands as Ukrainian forces are more prepared for battle.
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“We were able to withstand the first and scariest assault and now the whole country understands [the dangers], men are mobilised, people can and know how to fight and understand what to do,” Roman Dudin said.
“They [Russian forces] don’t understand that no one wants them here. Children, old people, men, women. Even ducks don’t want to see these occupiers here. So death will be waiting for them from at every corner, every opening,” he added.
Kharkiv, which is the country’s second-biggest city, has come under a barrage of attacks since the war started.
The eastern city of Kramatorsk has also come under fire, with Russia claiming to have struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, west of the Donbas, with missiles as well.
Ukraine ‘has ignored ceasefire offer’
In the devastated port city of Mariupol, which has been a key target for Putin’s forces, Ukrainian troops said the Russian military dropped heavy bombs to flatten what was left of a steel plant and hit a hospital where hundreds were staying.
Tens of thousands of residents have been trapped in the city with no access to food or water and Ukraine believes more than 20,000 civilians have died there since the war began.
