Azovstal steel plant continues with heavy fighting between the last standing Ukrainian defenders and Russian forces.
What we know about the plant is as follows:
The facility, which is located south of Mariupol, is the site of a dramatic last stand against Russian invading forces.
According to its owner Metinvest Holding, Ukraine’s largest steelmaker, Azovstal was a key player on the global stage until recently, producing 4 million tonnes of steel annually and exporting the bulk.
Steel produced at Azovstal is utilised in some of the world’s most iconic monuments, from London’s Shard skyscraper to Manhattan’s Hudson Yards to Genoa’s San Giorgio Bridge (which replaced the fallen Morandi Bridge).
According to Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Holding, which controls the facility, at least 150 people have been killed, with many more still missing.
He claims that the facility employed 11,000 people before the war, and that the company’s employees include family dynasties who have worked in the steel industry for as long as they can remember.
After Russian forces broke the plant’s perimeter, Lt. Col. Denys Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov Regiment soldiers inside, said there are “hard, brutal fighting” inside the complex.
“Heavy artillery and tanks are firing all over the castle,” Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said Wednesday. “Aviation is functioning, ships have approached and are also firing on the citadel.”
According to Boichenko, there are still 30 imprisoned at the plant who need to be evacuated.
Over 100 civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant over the weekend and arrived safely in Zaporizhzhia.
According to deputy commander Svyatoslav Palamar, fighters inside the besieged facility are “sharing water and food” with civilians, but time is running short.