Ukraine accused Russian forces of dropping phosphorus bombs on Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant on Sunday, as the families of the fighters trapped in the sprawling complex said they fear their fight is coming to an end.
On Sunday, a video from the air showed that the Russians attacked the plant. The footage was shared on social media.
After several weeks of Russian bombardment and siege, Mariupol, a city in Ukraine’s east Donbas, is now in Russian hands. However, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters remain under intense fire from the steelworks.
Many civilians were hiding in the plant when the International Committee of the Red Cross (UN) helped them evacuate.
The footage of the attack begins with an aerial view of the vast Azovstal plant, when suddenly a Russian missile detonates in mid-air – releasing a fiery burst over the already heavily damaged factory buildings below.
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Pictured: Russian Incendiary munitions fall over the vast Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, in a terrifying video posted to social media on Sunday showing the scale of the damage that has been done to the vast coastal complex
One second after the explosion of a Russian missile above the steelworks, an explosive burst of fiery sparks was seen over the plant. The rocket rained incendiary weapons down onto the factory.
The factory is dotted with more bursts. This is where Ukrainian soldiers stand as a final defense against Russia’s invasion of Mariupol. The ground is covered with hundreds of tons of flaming ammunition.
‘Sparks’ – which are actually a grouping of incendiary munitions – fall to the ground and ignite. The explosions can look like firecrackers from afar, but they actually consist of numerous detonations.
Camera pans out and more explosions are visible over the plant. Flamming explosives fall from above as they descend.
It is relentless, and hundreds of sparks land on roofs and ground of steelworks setting them ablaze.
Ukrainians claimed the video showed Vladimir Putin’s forces dropping 9M22S incendiary and phosphorus bombs on Azovstal, that an official said burn at temperatures of over 2,000 degrees Celsius.
According to the Ukrainians, ‘The Russian military claims that 9M22S incendiary rounds with thermite layer were used’.
“The temperature at which the combustion takes place is between 2,000 and 2,500 degrees Celsius. Petr Andryushchenko a Mariupol adviser, stated on Sunday that stopping the burning is virtually impossible.
Sky News was contacted by the mothers and wives of Ukrainian defenders who were trapped in the steel mill, saying that they had fears about the ending of the fighting.
Natalya Zarytska, who married her husband Bohdan in an online ceremony in April, told the broadcaster that he is ‘in real hell’.
“He’s lost over 20 kilos.” He looks very bad and is in a terrible condition,’ she said, adding: ‘I think that this is the end.’
Pictured: A view of Russia army shelling to storm the territory of the besieged Azovstal plant in Southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on May 14, 2022
The undated handout photo released by Ukraine’s President Administration shows the Ukrainian fighters in the Azovstal steelworks located in Mariupol, Ukraine.
The last picture he sent to her was the one she saw. He said his face was red. Ms Zarytska said her husband told her the defensive perimeter around the steep factory was getting ‘thinner’. She said that the end would be near.
On whether she would see her husband again, she told Sky News: ‘Yes I hope so. Although I believe there is no possibility, my heart believes that they can.
A woman, who told the broadcaster her name was Svetlana, said she was certain she would see her son again, despite the odds of the fighters in Azovstal surviving looking increasingly desperate.
‘Of course. “I must see him. He is my child and must come home. He is aware that I will be waiting for him. Of course, no doubt. “I don’t have any doubts,” she stated.
With the exception of a few hundred soldiers in the steel plant, the Azov Sea port at Mariupol is now under Russian control.
According to reports, a convoy consisting of 500-1000 cars with civilians was able reach Zaporizhzhia under Ukrainian control on Saturday. Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, said that authorities are negotiating for the evacuation of 60 seriously wounded soldiers at the steelworks.
After his victory in Eurovision, Volodymyr Zelesky (the Ukrainian President) made a bold promise to host the contest one day in Mariupol.
Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra was victorious with its popular song, “Stefania”, and it has been a major victory for morale.
Zelensky posted on Facebook, “Our courage impresses all the world and our music conquers Europe.” “Next year, Ukraine hosts Eurovision!”
Zelensky promised that the competition would take place in a Ukrainian Mariupol.
Pictured: Undated handout photos released by Ukraine President Administration press service show Ukrainian fighters at Azovstal Steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine
These photos released by Kyiv show the gestures of the Ukrainian soldiers who are still at the Azovstal
Maxar Technologies’ satellite image shows eastern Mariupol in Ukraine. This is also the result of continuing aerial and artillery attack on the Azovstal Steel Plant.
As Russian troops begin to withdraw from Kharkiv (the country’s second largest city), after weeks of bombardment, while Moscow continues its relentless battle for control over the Donbas, Russia’s eastern industrial center, these optimistic words are being uttered by the president.
Russia is now most likely to have lost one third of its ground combat troops it deployed in February. The country continues to experience ‘consistently large levels of attrition’ and has not made any significant territorial gains in the last month, Britain’s Defence Ministry stated in Sunday’s daily intelligence update.
The ministry stated on Twitter that Russia’s Donbas offensive had lost momentum and fell significantly behind schedule. It also said that forces were suffering from ‘continued low morale, and reduced combat effectiveness’.
According to the ministry, Russia’s current circumstances make it unlikely that Russia will dramatically increase its pace of progress over the next thirty days.
Maxim Kozitsky from Lviv said that four missile strikes struck the military infrastructure of Yavoriv in western Ukraine. The strike occurred near the Polish border.
Kozitsky stated that the object was completely destroyed in an update to Telegram’s messaging app.
An earlier report by the Ukrainian regional air force stated that missiles from the Black Sea had been launched at Lviv in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Russia targeted rail infrastructures and other crucial infrastructures in Lviv and the vicinity, as this is close to Poland’s border. It has also been a key gateway for NATO-supplied weaponry.
Officials from the West have stated that the attack has not had an impact on Ukraine’s ability to supply its troops with food and water.
The Grand Finale Eurovision Song Contest Grand Finale at Palaolimpico Arena, Turin is won by Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine. A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, fresh from his Eurovision song contest win, promised early Sunday that he would host the song contest in Mariupol.
Pictured: A Ukrainian Army soldier walks past a burning natural gas terminal on May 13, 2022 on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine. After weeks of bombardment, Russian troops are abandoning Ukraine’s second capital Kharkiv.
Ukranian National Guard soldiers are positioned during a reconnaissance mission to a newly retaken village near Kharkiv
Pictured: In the aftermath of Russian withdrawal, Ukrainian troops patrol Kharkiv’s surroundings. According to the general staff of Ukraine, the Russians are withdrawing from Kharkiv’s northeastern region and now focus on protecting supply routes as Kyiv’s and Moscow’s forces engage in an intense battle for its eastern industrial heartland.
Pictured: A damaged Russian tank turret blown clean off the chassis near the village of Mala Rohan, Kharkiv, Ukraine, 13 May 2022
The Russian military is withdrawing from Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military stated that Moscow now concentrates on protecting supply routes. It also launched mortar, artillery, and airstrikes into Donetsk to try and deplete Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces hold a horseshoe-shaped area of Ukrainian territory in Donetsk (Ukraine) and Luhansk (Ukraine). These areas make up the Donbas Region, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, after failing to take Kyiv in the February 24th invasion, has now shifted his attention eastwards to the Donbas. He wants to surround the most skilled and well-equipped Ukrainian troops and seize any territory that is still Ukraine’s.
Journalists are unable to travel in the east due to artillery fires and airstrikes, making it difficult to capture the full extent of the fighting. It appears that it is a back and forth battle with no major breakthroughs.
Russia has taken some Donbas villages and towns including Rubizhne. This town had an estimated prewar population around 55,000.
Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s forces also have made significant progress in the East, having retaken six villages or towns in the last day.
He said that the situation was very tough in Donbas and Russian forces were trying to win it.
He said, “Step by Step, We are Forcing the Ukrainian Land’s Occupants to Leave the Ukraine Land,”
Kharkiv, located close to the Russian border but only 50 miles from the Russian capital of Belgorod has seen weeks of heavy shelling. This largely Russian-speaking town, with an estimated population of 1.4million people before the war began, was one of Moscow’s key strategic objectives.
Large numbers of vans and cars carrying refugees from Mariupol’s ruins arrived in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on Saturday. They had waited for several days before Russian troops allowed them to go.
Ukrainian refugees arrive in cars from Mariupol, Ukraine to register and receive humanitarian assistance. This is despite Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine.
Since more than 2 months, Ukraine slowly evacuated civilians from Mariupol.
Regional Gov. Oleh Sinegubov, a Telegram messenger app user said that Kharkiv had not been shelled in the previous day.
He said that Ukraine had launched a counteroffensive in the vicinity of Izyum (a town 78 miles from Kharkiv, which has been held since April at most).
Putin claimed that the invasion of Ukraine was an answer to NATO’s growth in Eastern Europe.
However, other countries on Russia’s side are worried that they might be the next to fall. In fact, the prime minister and president of Finland have stated in recent weeks they support NATO membership. Officials in Sweden expect to make a decision on Sunday regarding whether or not to apply to become a member of the Western military alliance.
In a telephone conversation, Putin assured Sauli Niinisto (Finnish President) that there were no security threats to Finland and that NATO membership would not be an “error” and have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations.
Potential bids from Nordic countries were put into doubt Friday after Recep Tayyip Erdan, Turkey’s President, stated that his country was ‘not of favorable opinion’.
Antony Blinken (US Secretary of State) was to meet NATO counterparts including the Turkish foreign minister this weekend in Germany.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, stated that Blinken met him in Berlin on Sunday. He said more weapons and aid were on their way to Ukraine.
Kuleba had to inform NATO foreign ministers at Berlin’s Sunday meeting about Ukraine’s situation and the ways the alliance could help Ukraine in its fight against invading Russian forces.
“We have agreed to cooperate closely to make sure that Ukrainian food exports to Asia and Africa reach their consumers,” Kuleba tweeted. Kuleba posted, “Grateful to Secretary Blinken as well as the U.S. For their leadership and unwavering assistance,”
According to U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price, the two men spoke out about Russia’s February 24th invasion of Ukraine and its impact on global food security.
‘The Secretary conveyed details regarding the latest tranche of U.S. security assistance to bolster Ukraineâs defences,’ Price said.
NATO member Turkey proposed a sea evacuation for wounded combatants huddled in a Mariupol steelworks, President Tayyip Turkey’s spokesperson said Saturday.
Interview with Reuters by Ibrahim Kalin: He told Reuters that he’d discussed the Ukrainian president’s proposal in Kyiv 2 weeks ago. It’s still ‘on the table,’ however Moscow hasn’t yet agreed.
According to him, the plan would allow people to be evacuated from Azovstal’s vast steel plant by taking them on land to Berdyansk (which like Mariupol lies on the Sea of Azov) and then a Turkish ship to transport them over the Black Sea to Istanbul.
“If we can do it that way, it is our pleasure. We’re ready. Our ship is actually ready to take the wounded soldiers and civilians to Turkey’s shores, said Kalin who also serves as Erdogan’s chief foreign policy advisor. Russia and Ukraine have not yet commented on whether there is a possibility of an evacuation from the sea.