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Russian forces storm Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol: Ukraine
[NYPOST] Russian forces are storming the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, its defenders said Tuesday — less than two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... made a show of calling off plans to attack the Ukrainian redoubt. "The enemy is trying to storm the Azovstal plant with significant forces using armored vehicles," Denys Shlega, a Ukrainian National Guard commander at Azovstal, said. The sprawling, Soviet-era metalworks — a maze of bunkers and tunnels — has been likened to a Ukrainian Alamo in the decimated port city of Mariupol. Some 2,000 of the city’s last remaining defenders have been holed up there for weeks, along with a few hundred civilians hiding from the Russian advance. Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Azov Regiment, said on Telegram that the Russians were attacking the plant with "the support of armored vehicles and tanks, with attempts to land troops from boats and a large number of infantry." "We’ll do everything that’s possible to repel the assault, but we’re calling for urgent measures to evacuate the civilians that remain inside the plant and to bring them safely," he said. Palamar said two civilian women were killed following overnight ... KABOOM!... s and artillery bombardment, and ten more civilians were maimed. In an interview with CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... Monday night, the Azov leader said that their stocks of food and water were getting thin, with soldiers and civilians sharing resources. "We are extremely short on supplies in terms of water and food. I cannot tell you for sure how much is left... but I can assure you that we are saving, very fearful without water and food, and especially ammunition," he said. "If (worse) comes to worst and we run out of food, we’ll be catching birds and we’ll be doing everything just to stand firm," he added. After days of wrangling, a joint United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... and International Red Thingy evacuation effort on Monday brought a reported 101 civilians out of the plant. Dozens of evacuees reached the safety of Kyiv-controlled Zaporizhzhia on buses Tuesday. "I can’t believe I made it, we just want rest," said Alina Kozitskaya, who said she spent weeks cowering in a basement with her packed bags waiting for an opportunity to escape. Still, many remained trapped in the port city. More than 200 civilians are still in the steel plant, with a total of 100,000 stuck in Mariupol, according to Mayor Vadym Boichenko. Pascal Hundt, who heads the Ukraine office of the International Committee of the Red Thingy, said that he remained "extremely concerned" about more fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the city. Posted by: Fred 2022-05-04 |
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