Ukrainian fighter says conditions are ‘awful’ for injured soldiers still trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, report says

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Ukrainian fighter says conditions are ‘awful’ for injured soldiers still trapped in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, report says

Taylor Ardrey – May 14, 2022

Azovstal Iron and Steel Works Mariupol
Smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 21, 2022.Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
  • A Ukrainian fighter detailed the “awful” conditions for those trapped at Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant.
  • “They are dying in large numbers because we can’t provide medical care,” the fighter said, per CNN.
  • The fighter added that medics are forced to perform surgeries without anesthesia, the report said.

A Ukrainian fighter detailed the “awful” conditions for those who are injured and remain trapped at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol amid the ongoing war with Russia, CNN reported on Saturday.

“Today, I was in the hospital. This is a huge gym, school … several dozen bunk beds. Everything else is just on the floor,” the fighter said on Ukrainian television, per the outlet. “Fighters are simply lying without limbs, without arms, without legs.”

The fighter said an estimated 600 people are wounded: “They are dying in large numbers because we can’t provide medical care. There are simply no medicines. Those with severe wounds … it is almost impossible to save them,” CNN reported.

According to the report, he added that the hospital is “completely unsanitary,” and some medics are forced to perform surgeries on soldiers without anesthesia.

Ukraine officials said that women, children, and elderly individuals were evacuated from Azovstal, the country’s last stronghold, after being trapped for weeks. Earlier this week, a Ukrainian marine commander asked billionaire Elon Musk to help people escape from the steel plant on social media.

According to CNN, the fighter said it is not clear if all civilians have been cleared from the complex.

“No one can be 100% sure. Let’s just say that we took out those civilians that we knew about. Somewhere they may be under the rubble, in some bunkers, where we have not yet explored in some shelters,” the fighter said, the outlet reported. “Therefore, no one can be 100% sure. But those civilians whom we knew who were here, we took out completely 100%.”

Author: John Hanno

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Bogan High School. Worked in Alaska after the earthquake. Joined U.S. Army at 17. Sergeant, B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 84th Artillery, 7th Army. Member of 12 different unions, including 4 different locals of the I.B.E.W. Worked for fortune 50, 100 and 200 companies as an industrial electrician, electrical/electronic technician.