A deputy commander of the last remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol said Thursday that his troops are fighting on, even as Russian officials claimed victory in the strategic port city in the south.
Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, a nationalist group that is part of Ukraine’s National Guard, said from Mariupol’s Azovstal Iron and Steel Works that they are “surrounded” but “continuing to defend” themselves.
For weeks, his forces, along with the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, have fought off Russia’s assault. Now they are holed up inside a sprawling iron and steel plant, where Ukrainian officials say a number of civilians have also taken shelter.
Palamar was able to communicate with The Washington Post via satellite messages with freelance journalist Khrystyna Bondarenko.
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