Mariupol: These days the war over the occupation of the south-eastern port city of Mariupol in Ukraine is taking a terrible form. Russian troops also targeted Europe’s biggest iron and steelworks in the city. Officials said on Sunday that the Azovstal steel plant was badly damaged in the attack. Meanwhile, the City Council has reported that Russia has bombed a school building in the city of Mariupol, inside which more than 400 people had taken shelter. The school building was destroyed in the attack. However, till the time of writing the news, there was no information about the loss of life and property.
Ukraine MP Lesia Vasylenko posted a video of the destruction of the Azovstal plant on Twitter. He wrote that the destruction of Europe’s largest metallurgical plant has not only caused a huge economic blow to Ukraine but also caused great damage to the environment. In the video posted by Lesia, it is clearly visible that one after the other big explosions happen in the plant and after that, a plume of black smoke starts coming out. Sehriy Taruta, a fellow parliamentarian from Lesia, also wrote about it on Facebook that Russian soldiers have destroyed the steel factory in a way.
On the other hand, the Director-General of Ajovastal Plant wrote on the messaging app Telegram, expressing hope that we will return to the city and repair the plant and make it operational again. However, he did not say how much damage was done to the plant. But he said that as soon as the Russian troops started attacking Mariupol on 24 February, we started the precautionary measures. We had made such arrangements that if the plant is attacked, then it causes minimum damage to the environment. The coal-fired furnaces inside the plant were switched off so that civilians living nearby would not suffer any loss of life or property.
The owner of the Azovstal plant is Rinat Ekhmetov, who is considered the richest person in Ukraine. Akhmetov was previously considered a supporter of Russia, but since Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine, he has been critical of Russia. They say that by attacking Ukraine, Russia has committed a crime against humanity.
Ahead of the attack on the steel plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video on Sunday morning saying Russian troops have laid siege to the city of Mariupol. History will never forgive them for what the attackers have done to this peaceful city, the terror they have spread here. It will be remembered for centuries. Russian troops are continuously entering the city of Mariupol. The signs of destruction in the city can be clearly seen in the attacks.
