According to a presidential adviser, Russian forces are attacking a steel mill in the vital port city of Mariupol, which is Ukraine’s final defensive position.
During a briefing on Saturday, Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, said that Russian soldiers had resumed air raids on Azovstal and were attempting to storm it.
“The enemy is attempting to utterly suppress the Mariupol defenders’ resistance in the Azovstal area,” Arestovich added.
Arestovich’s declaration came two days after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that the Russians had “liberated” Mariupol, with the exception of Azovstal.
Putin ordered the Russian military to blockade the factory rather than storm it, ostensibly to suffocate the remaining pockets of resistance there.
Officials from Ukraine estimate that roughly 2,000 of their men are inside the plant, with another 1,000 taking refuge in the underground tunnels.
Despite the resumption of attacks, Arestovich claims that Ukrainian fighters are still holding on and are even attempting to counter them.
