steel plant
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-says-it-controls-mariupol-but-ukrainian-troops-hold-out-in-steel-plant/ar-AAWrIeq?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=444e686798614361b295fc1e9a1bf333
The Wall Street Journal.
Russia Says It Controls Mariupol, but Ukrainian Troops Hold Out in Steel Plant
Thomas Grove, Matthew Luxmoore - 1h ago
KYIV, Ukraine—Russia said Thursday it had taken control of Mariupol, presenting it as one of its first victories in the conflict after weeks of setbacks, though Ukrainian forces were still blockaded inside a vast steel plant in the city and said they were continuing to launch attacks on Russian positions.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a meeting at the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin that Russian troops were in control of the strategic port city and that the Azovstal plant in the south where Ukrainian forces were holed up had been blocked off.
A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that almost all of Mariupol was under Russian control, but a fight for the plant continued.
The statement from Mr. Shoigu came a day after Russia dismissed a United Nations-backed four-day cease-fire that would have come into effect on Thursday.
Russia has tightened its grip on Mariupol since the first weeks of the invasion, pushing out pockets of resistance in residential areas. In recent weeks, it has focused on the remaining Ukrainian troops still fighting from the steel plant. There were conflicting reports around how many Ukrainian troops remained at the plant, with Russia saying some 2,000 were there.
In a nod to the heavy losses Russian armed forces sustained in the first weeks of the conflict, Mr. Putin dismissed a suggestion by Mr. Shoigu to storm the plant, saying it would unnecessarily endanger the lives of Russian soldiers.
“This is one of those times when we should think…about safeguarding the life and health of our soldiers and officers,” he said. “Block this industrial zone so that not even a fly can enter.”
Mr. Putin appealed to Ukrainian soldiers at the plant to lay down their weapons and said they would be dealt with according to international law.
While Russian troops won’t be storming the plant, an operation that could take three to four days, they will still likely be engaging with Ukrainian troops who continue to fire on Russian positions, Mr. Shoigu said.
Ukraine’s Azov regiment said Thursday that “despite the extremely difficult situation,” it had managed to destroy three Russian tanks and two armored personnel carriers in the past two days.
On Wednesday, Major Serhiy Volyna, commander of the 36th Marine Brigade defending the steel plant, said in a video recording that time was running out for his troops and they had only hours or days left to live.