Several wives of the last Ukrainian fighters in the port city of Mariupol have described the catastrophic conditions in the Azovstal steel mill, which is besieged by Russian troops.
There is only one glass of water per person per day, said one of the women in an interview quoted by the Ukrainian media on Sunday. The woman said she was last able to talk to her husband on the phone a few hours ago. She and the others once again called for the evacuation of all entrenched fighters – first the seriously injured among them. Their situation is “terrible”: Some are missing arms or legs, there are hardly any drugs or narcotics.
According to Ukrainian sources, around 1,000 defenders of Mariupol have holed up in the steelworks, which has been surrounded and fired upon by Russians and pro-Russian separatists for weeks. Around 600 are said to be injured, it was said recently. The Ukrainian army is far from Mariupol and currently has no chance of liberating the city, which has been largely occupied by the Russians. “The mood is pessimistic because there is almost no hope of rescue,” said one fighter’s wife in the interview. “They are preparing for the final battle because they don’t believe in a diplomatic solution.”
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