The Ukrainian fighters fighting Russian forces in the tunnels below Mariupol's enormous steel plant refused surrender to the relentless attacks. One commander's wife said that they had made a vow to "stand until the end" for their fight against Russian forces.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine reduced the city to ruins, the fight for the last Ukrainian stronghold seemed increasingly desperate. There is growing speculation that Vladimir Putin may want to announce victory on the battlefield to the Russian people in time for Victory Day.
After speaking to her husband, a leader in the defense of the steel plant, Kateryna Prokopenko stated Thursday that "they won't surrender." They only hope for a miracle.
She claimed that her husband, Azov Regiment commander Denys PROCOPenko, had told her he loved her for all eternity. "I'm going crazy from this. She said, "It seemed like goodbye words."
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Military, "The blockade of units by the defense forces in Azovstal continues" and that Russians with aviation support had resumed assault operations to seize control of the sprawling facility.
Monday's Victory Day, which marks the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany, is the most patriotic holiday on Russia's calendar. The British Defense Ministry stated that as long as Ukraine resists the takeover, Russian losses "will continue to build up and frustrate their operational plans for southern Donbas," in an assessment.
According to Russia's latest estimate, around 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were trapped in a network of tunnels and bunkers below Azovstal steelworks. There were believed to be several hundred civilians trapped there.
In his nightly video address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President, stated that "there are many wounded (fighters), but not surrendering." They are holding on to their positions."
"Imagine this hell!" He said that there were children there. "More that two months of constant bombing, shelling, and constant death.
According to Anton Gerashchenko (an adviser to Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry), the Russians were able to enter the plant Wednesday using the assistance of an electrician who was familiar with its layout.
Gerashchenko stated in a video that he showed the tunnels underground leading to the factory.
Zelenskyy claimed that the attack prevented evacuation of civilians. U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated, however, that another attempt was being made. Guterres stated that "We must continue doing all we can" to rescue people from these hellscapes.
The Kremlin denies that its troops stormed the plant and demanded that the Ukrainians give up. They refused. Russia also accuses the fighters of stopping civilians leaving.
According to Anton Gerashchenko (an adviser to Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry), the Russians were able to enter the plant Wednesday using the assistance of an electrician who was familiar with its layout.
Gerashchenko stated in a video that he showed the tunnels underground leading to the factory.
Zelenskyy claimed that the attack prevented evacuation of civilians. U.N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated, however, that another attempt was being made. Guterres stated that "We must continue doing all we can" to rescue people from these hellscapes.
The Kremlin denies that its troops stormed the plant and demanded that the Ukrainians give up. They refused. Russia also accuses the fighters of stopping civilians leaving.
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Falling of Mariupol would mean that Ukraine loses a crucial port and allow Russia to create a land corridor to Crimea Peninsula. Russia seized Crimea in 2014. It also allows Russia to free troops from fighting elsewhere in Donbas, an eastern industrial area which the Kremlin claims is its main objective.
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Over 100 civilians were rescued by the steelworks during the weekend. However, many attempts to open safe corridors from Mariupol in the past have failed. The Ukrainian government blames firing and shelling by the Russians.
Ten weeks into the terrible war, the Ukrainian military claimed that it had retaken some parts of the south and repelled other attacks in east. This further frustrates Putin's ambitions to seize Kyiv. Village by village, the Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting.
According to the General Staff of Kyiv, Russian forces were conducting surveillance missions. In Donetsk/Luhansk, Ukrainian forces repelled 11 attacks and destroyed tanks, armored vehicles and other weapons. Russia did not immediately acknowledge these losses.
John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesperson, stated that Russian forces are only making "plodding" progress within the Donbas.
There are increasing indications that Ukraine may try to expand its push to seize additional territory from Russia, other than Kharkiv (its second-largest)
General Valerii Zaluzhnyi (the Ukrainian chief of defense) said that a counteroffensive could be launched to force Russian forces from Kharkiv, Izyum and other key points in Russia's eastern cauldron. In recent days, the Ukraine has driven Russian troops to 40 km (25 miles) east from Kharkiv which has been repeatedly hit by Russian shelling.
Additional Ukrainian advances could save the city from artillery attacks and force Moscow to divert troops into other front lines.
A U.S. official stated that the U.S. shared intelligence about Ukraine's location of a Russian flagship before the strike in mid-April that sank it. This was one of Moscow’s most prominent failures during the war.
According to the official, "a range" of intelligence has been provided by the U.S., which includes information about warship locations. The official was not allowed to speak publicly and spoke under anonymity. Official said that the decision to strike the missile cruiser Moskva was solely a Ukrainian decision.
The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine warned residents not to gather at public places and asked them to move on to the countryside to escape the threat of attacks on Victory Day.
The curfew was announced by Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, which is a crucial transit point for Mariupol evacuees, from Sunday night through Tuesday morning.
Mariupol, with a population of more than 400,000 before the war, is now a symbol for the suffering inflicted during the conflict. The city was under siege by 100,000 civilians who had no food, water or medicine.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov stated that Russian bombardment had hit many Ukrainian military targets as the battle continued there. This included troop concentrations in eastern Ukraine, an artillery battery close to Zarozhne, and rocket launchers close to Mykolaiv, the southernmost city.
Zelenskyy stated that the war had destroyed Ukraine's medical infrastructure in a video link to charity events in the U.K. He said that nearly 400 facilities were damaged or destroyed.
He stated that there was a "catastrophic situation" in terms of access to medicine and medical services in the occupied areas. "Even the most basic drugs are not available."
Zelenskyy launched United24, a global crowdfunding platform that addresses the challenges of mine-clearing after war and rebuilding after it.
The international donor conference in Poland, which raised $6.5 billion for humanitarian aid, was also held. Prime ministers and ambassadors of many European countries attended the gathering, along with representatives from some other countries.
A Ukrainian cabinet committee began to prepare proposals for a comprehensive postwar rebuilding plan. Zelenskyy also asked Western allies to support a program similar in design to the post-World War II Marshall Plan plan.
