Human faces of the siege of Mariupol
Footage shows Ukrainian civilians sheltering in steelworks for over 50 days as missiles rained down
‘We saw neither the sky nor the sun. I really want to get out of here’
‘These are our people and this is our city’
AS THE torches of the Ukrainian soldiers shone on their pale figures, the children’s faces lit up.
For more than 50 days, hundreds of civilians have been hiding in makeshift living quarters deep inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks, with no sunlight, dwindling supplies of food and missiles raining down around them.
“We all really want to return home alive – we want to see our loved ones,” said one young boy in a thick jumper.
But the troops could not provide a safe passage out. Instead, they could only offer sweets, fist bumps and encouraging words.
The footage was filmed on Thursday, when Vladimir Putin declared that Mariupol had been conquered and that the steel complex would be blockaded “so that not even a fly can get through”.
But yesterday Russian forces changed tactics, launching more missiles and attempting to storm the site.
“The enemy is trying to strangle the final resistance of Mariupol’s defenders,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych yesterday.
Officials said that an attempt to safely evacuate civilians through a humanitarian corridor had been “thwarted” by
Russia, which instead tried to bus them into Russian-controlled territory.
The steelworks is one of the largest in Europe, set over four square miles, with a maze of tunnels and bunkers, and has been home to more than 1,000 terrified Mariupol residents since not long after the Russian invasion began on Feb 24.
One young girl said she left her house with her mother and grandmother on Feb 27 and sought shelter at the facility.
“After that we saw neither the sky nor the sun. I really want to get out of here so that it is safe, so that no one is hurt.”
Inside a cramped, cold, dark room, large signs saying “Children” in red paint are seen on the walls. One woman, who is not named, is heard saying more than 15 children – from babies to those aged 14 – are sheltering there.
“We want to get out of here as soon as possible,” said another girl.
“Thank you to the military, who constantly come to us and bring food.”
Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Mariupol since the early days of the war, leaving in ruins a city that is usually home to more than 400,000 people.
For Russia, the capture of Mariupol is seen as a key step in preparations for any eastern assault since it would free up Russian troops for that campaign.
The fall of the city on the Sea of Azov would also hand Russia its biggest victory of the war, giving it full control of a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014, and depriving Ukraine of a major port and its prized industrial assets.
Despite Putin’s claims that it has been conquered, Oleksiy Arestovych, a political adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukrainian troops in the Azovstal complex were still holding out “despite the very difficult situation” and were attempting counterattacks.
The siege of the city has come at a huge cost. Satellite images released this week showed what appeared to be a second mass grave near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying thousands of civilians to conceal the slaughter taking place there.
A new attempt to evacuate civilians failed yesterday.
“The evacuation was thwarted,” Mariupol city official Petro Andryushchenko said on Telegram, adding that around 200 residents had gathered at the evacuation meeting point announced by Kyiv, but Russian forces “dispersed” them. He claimed others were told to board buses headed to Dukuchayevsk, about 50 miles north, which is controlled by Russia.
“Once again the Russians have disrupted an evacuation,” he said.
Last night, President Zelensky said: “These are our people and this is our city. We have a right to de-blockade our city militarily and we have great hope to do that.”
As the battle for Mariupol ground on, Russia claimed it had taken control of several villages elsewhere in the eastern Donbas region and destroyed 11 Ukrainian military targets overnight, including three artillery warehouses.
Two missiles reportedly destroyed a logistics terminal in the Black Sea port city of Odesa where a large number of weapons supplied by the US and European nations were being stored, the Russian defence ministry said.
In an online post, the ministry also said Russian forces had yesterday killed up to 200 Ukrainian troops.
There was no confirmation from Ukraine on those losses, but officials confirmed eight civilians, including a three-month-old baby, had been killed and at least 18 wounded by Russian cruise missiles that hit Odesa.
The attack and the killing of the baby brought President Zelensky to high emotion during yesterday’s press conference. “They killed a three-month-old baby,” he said. “The war started when this baby was one month old. Can you even imagine what is happening? They are just b-------. Just b-------. I don’t have any other words to use in this context.”
Russian MP Leonid Babashov yesterday became the first Russian official to call for the capture of Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port and an important cultural centre.