BURIED ALIVE
Civilians trapped in steelworks as exits blocked after Russian raids
UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky says women and children are buried alive under rubble in Mariupol after Russian shelling.
Fears are soaring for hundreds of civilians and more than 1,000 troops clinging on to their last stronghold in a vast steelworks amid ferocious fighting.
Russians have stepped up shelling of the Azovstal complex as defenders and residents shelter underground.
Mr Zelensky said women and children now need to be dug out from the rubble that is blocking exits in tunnels.
He added: “It takes time to just lift people out of these basements. In the current conditions we cannot use special equipment to clear debris.
“Everything is done manually, by hand, but we believe everything will work out.”
Russian forces have vowed to allow a ceasefire to enable a rescue bid for the rest of Mariupol’s trapped civilians.
And leader Vladimir Putin yesterday told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that Russia is still ready to provide safe passage. But
Ukraine’s previous attempts at evacuation have been thwarted as Russia reneged on pledges.
Mayor adviser Petro Andryushchenko described the plight of thousands of citizens from Mariupol being held by the invaders in “filtration camps” outside the city. He said: “The conditions are
terrible – people are forced
to sleep on the floor in the corridors. Medical care is not provided.”
He also claimed desperate Russian commanders plan to dress up captured civilians as Pows for the May 9 Victory Day parade, which marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
It emerged prosecutors are identifying Russians who committed war crimes through clues left behind when they fled north from Kyiv’s outskirts. One paratrooper was traced after leaving a love letter in the ruins of buildings despite Kremlin denials atrocities occurred in places like Bucha.
It means his unit, the 76th Guards Air Assault Division, was in the city.
Social media posts revealed at least three Chechen units were also in Bucha, where more than 400 civilians were slaughtered, many left in the streets.
And a group of Russian soldiers sprayed “Wolf 68” on to a wall in Bucha.
The number 68 denotes the Tambov region near Moscow on car number plates and Russian man Kirill Kryuchkov was identified from online posts.
Paratroopers also left behind lists of their “call signs” – codes used to identify themselves when making radio calls.
These were unique to the 104th Air Assault Regiment.
Ukraine is probing more than 9,000 war crimes on civilians. Kyiv figures claim 221 children have been killed during the invasion and 408 injured.
The British government yesterday confirmed it has sanctioned steel-maker and mining firm Evraz, whose biggest shareholder is sanctioned billionaire Roman Abramovich.