The plant is located to the east of the southern port, which has been ravaged by weeks of shelling, in an industrial complex that stretches over 11 square kilometers (4.25 square miles) and contains numerous buildings, blast furnaces, and rail tracks.
“The Azovstal facility is such a big place with so many buildings that the Russians can’t detect (the Ukrainian forces),” said Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst in Kyiv.
“That’s why they (the Russians) started talking about attempting a chemical assault since that’s the only way to smoke them out,” Zhdanov explained.
Ukraine has stated that it is investigating unconfirmed reports that Russia used chemical weapons in Mariupol. Separatists supported by Russia have denied employing chemical weapons.
The Azovstal iron and steel plant produced 4 million tons of steel per year during peacetime, 3.5 million tons of hot metal, and 1.2 million tons of rolled steel.
Azovstal, like the city’s other Illich Steel and Iron Works, is owned by Metinvest, the holding company of Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
On Russian state television on Monday, a Russian separatist deputy commander said that Moscow had taken 80 percent of the port, but that resistance remained and that Ukrainian forces had all attempted to “leave towards the Azovstal factory.”
He referred to the facility as a “city fortification.”
Ukrainian marines, motorized brigades, a National Guard brigade, and the Azov Regiment, a far-right militia that was later absorbed into the National Guard, are among the city’s defenders.
Azovstal is closely tied with the Azov Regiment, whose elimination is one of Moscow’s war aims, and one of its founders, Andriy Biletskiy, has dubbed it “the castle of the Azov.”
The invasion is described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “special operation” aimed at “demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine,” while Ukraine and the West accused Russia of launching an unprovoked war of aggression.
“Azov is, in fact, on Azovstal’s land… The Russians are deploying massive bombs since these are large territories with workshops that can’t be destroyed from the air “Sergiy Zgurets, a military analyst, agreed.
Though Ukraine has not verified it, Russia’s defense ministry stated on Wednesday that more than 1,000 soldiers from Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, including 162 officers, had surrendered in Mariupol.
Later, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych reported that troops of the 36th Marine Brigade had managed to join the Azov Regiment in a “very dangerous move.”
“The 36th Brigade avoided being ripped to shreds and now has significant additional opportunities, effectively a second chance,” he said.
Because there is no mobile reception or internet in the city, information is scarce. Ukraine has maintained tight control over issues like troop levels, which might jeopardize its defense.
On March 20, Biletskiy of the Azov told Ukraine’s NV news site that Ukraine had 3,000 men defending the city against up to 14,000 Russians.
OBJECTIVELY DIFFICULT TO OCCUPY
On Tuesday, the private American satellite company Maxar was able to peek down from space at the fierce clashes.
“Smoke and flames were seen pouring from a number of buildings in the city’s western and eastern sectors, as well as at and near the Azovstal iron and steelworks factory – the scene of continuing hostilities between Russian and Ukrainian forces,” the statement claimed.
According to reporters, it’s impossible to estimate how long the Ukrainians will be able to hold out, and it’s also difficult for Russia to seize the entire city because of the industrial complexes. “Underneath the steel factory, there are tunnel systems.”
“A victory in Mariupol (and the capitulation of Azov-troops) will allow Putin to declare that the ‘denazification’ campaign has been effective,” the insider stated.
On Wednesday, an assistant to Mariupol’s mayor claimed that Russia planned to commemorate the city’s victory on May 9, the anniversary of Moscow’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, with an annual procession on Red Square.
The military specialist, Zhdanov, believes there is a slim probability that Ukrainian forces will be able to break through Russia’s siege from the outside.
“Nobody knows how many supplies the defenders have or how long they can hold out. They don’t have any other options, though. They’re surrounded on all sides and must hold their ground to the finish. They would not be spared if they give up “he stated
