The final stand for the Ukrainian city of Mariupol began this week as Russian forces entered the hulking Azovstal steel plant at the heart of the besieged city, where thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been hiding for weeks.
“Heavy, bloody battles are being fought,” said Capt. Sviatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Ukrainian forces inside the plant, in a video released Thursday on Telegram.
The Azovstal plant has become the epicenter of the battle for Mariupol. Ukrainian officials say that Russian forces entered Azovstal for the first time on Tuesday — just days after about 150 civilians were evacuated in a convoy organized by the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross.
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