Children plead for lives of soldier fathers in steelworks

CHILDREN of Ukrainian soldiers trapped in the steelworks in Mariupol have begged for their fathers to be allowed to live just as Russia intensifies its bombardment of the stronghold.

And despite Russian officials saying all civilians had been evacuated, an aide to the mayor of Mariupol said that there were still 100 non-combatants inside with about 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers.

The video featured 13 children, aged up to 11 years, reading prepared lines.

“Since the beginning of the war my mother doesn’t smile,” said Andrei, nine. “She cries all the time because she is worried about my dad.”

It followed a protest in Kyiv by up to 50 wives of the soldiers on Friday who demanded that the Ukrainian government hold negotiations with Russia to secure their release.

Last month on TV, Russian president Vladimir Putin told his defence minister not to storm the steelworks because it would be a costly mission. But whether he changed his mind or his statement was a ruse, the final few defenders have said that attacks have intensified.

“We don’t have much time. We are coming under intense shelling,” said Capt Sviatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion at an online press conference on Sunday.

Conditions inside the steelworks are dreadful. Photos online yesterday showed badly injured Ukrainian soldiers patched up with bandages and wire. One man had a heavily swollen face which was covered in stitches.

Civilians who have escaped reported very little food, with people trying to survive on one small cup of pasta a day.

Mariupol mayoral aide Petro Andryushchenko wrote on Telegram that there were still some civilians inside.

“In addition to the military, at least 100 civilians remain in the Azovstal shelters. However, this does not reduce the intensity of attacks by the occupiers,” he said.