At last... Rescue from hell for 1,000 trapped in steelworks
A RESCUE operation is finally under way for 1,000 civilians trapped underneath the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after survivors told of the hell inside.
It is feared that any who remain will starve to death if they are not evacuated soon as food is rationed and water supplies are ‘90 per cent used up’.
The United Nations confirmed it had begun the ‘safe passage operation’ with the International Committee of the Red Cross in co-ordination with Ukrainian and Russian officials on Friday.
Around 100 have made it out of the Soviet-era plant, which has been besieged since April 16 – although many have been there for nearly two months. But roughly 2,000 remain trapped, of which half are Ukrainian fighters making their last stand.
Russia’s defence ministry said a group of 25 and another of 21 were evacuated on Saturday, with more leaving yesterday.
But Saviano Abreu, humanitarian spokesman for the UN, warned that the situation was ‘very complex’. The operation relies on Moscow keeping evacuation corridors open and allowing the escaping civilians through checkpoints back to Ukraine.
Traumatised civilians and soldiers who have been sheltering under the steelworks told of being forced to wrap the dead in bags and leave them to decompose in the same bunkers as the survivors.
They are said to have ‘forgotten what it means to wash’ and must risk getting shot if they want to go to the toilet. One
‘Could be bombarded at any time’
fighter told the German newspaper Bild: ‘The last time I washed myself was two months ago. We used cleaning wipes, but there are none left.
‘The biggest problem is going to the toilet. In the bunkers, everything has been clogged for a long time. We have to climb out with buckets. If you have to go to the toilet, you become a target.’
Vladimir Putin refused to storm the site and instead ordered his troops to block it off so that ‘even a fly cannot get through’.
The fighter said artillery, air and tank attacks against the plant ‘won’t stop at all’, adding: ‘If you leave the bunker, even at night, you could be detected by a Russian drone and become a target for a mortar.’
The soldier claimed the Russians were deliberately targeting medical facilities, adding: ‘Urgently needed medical drugs have been buried under the debris. The Russians know exactly where there’s a hospital, and they regularly drop heavy bombs on it.’
He said those trapped were limited to one meal a day – either porridge or tinned food – but the rations were running out and ‘there are only a few left’.
They must also go to a ‘dangerous’ area to get water which ‘could also be bombarded any time’.
The soldier said the mood was ‘nervous’, adding: ‘We hope that a third state will get us out because otherwise we’ll stay here forever.’
Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment, called for the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian fighters as well as civilians. ‘We don’t know why they are not taken away and their evacuation to the territory controlled by Ukraine is not being discussed,’ he said.
Despite the latest civilian rescue attempts, there are also fears for those who do make it out.
Women and children have arrived in Bezimenne, a village east of Mariupol controlled by Kremlinbacked separatists in eastern Ukraine, accompanied by UN and Red Cross representatives.
It raises fears that they may not be transported to safety and face the risk of ending up in Russian labour camps. Announcing the first evacuations on Saturday, Russia’s defence ministry said that ‘all of the civilians were given accommodation, food and necessary medical help’. But it did not say where they had been taken.
It also released a video of a convoy of cars and buses marked with the letter ‘Z’ – which is used on Russian tanks – driving at night.
Last night, the UN confirmed details of the operation, saying civilians would now go to Zaporizka, west of Mariupol, adding: ‘It was agreed with both parties to the conflict that civilians who had been stranded for nearly two months in Azovstal – women, children and the elderly – will be evacuated to Zaporizka where they will receive humanitarian support, including psychological services.
‘The operation started on Friday with a UN/International Committee for the Red Cross convoy travelling 230km from Zaporizka to reach the plant on Saturday.
‘We will not provide further details at this point to guarantee the safety of the civilians and humanitarians in the convoy.’