Outside contact has been lost with Ukrainian and mercenary fighters held up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol as Russian forces storm the facility.
The head of the Ukrainian parliament’s ruling faction David Arakhamia confirmed that news stating “Attempts to storm the plant continue for the second day. Russian troops are already on the territory of Azovstal.”
Russia has dramatically stepped up its offensive in Eastern Ukraine and the Kremlin has been determined to capture the Azovstal steel plant relatively intact as rumours swirl that high-ranking NATO officers and, or leading Ukrainian Neo-Nazis are among the desperate fighters trapped in the facility.
It’s unknown what the Russian forces expect to find in the steel plant but Moscow has determined it is worth the much more costly option of storming the facility rather than simply levelling it with airstrikes and artillery.
Meanwhile, tensions between Russia and the West continue to escalate with the EU pushing for an embargo on Russian oil, a move that would dramatically drive the cost of fuel higher than it already it.
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