Surrounded By Russian Troops At Mariupol Steelworks, Ukrainian Navy Commander Asks Elon Musk For Help

Illustration of a corner of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Chad Nagle)

JAKARTA - A troop commander hiding in a steel factory besieged by Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has asked SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk to help evacuate them.

Many civilians were rescued from the sprawling Azovstal steelworks last week under a deal with Russia, but no deal was reached with Moscow to allow hundreds of soldiers, some of them wounded, after weeks of bombardment.

"@elonmusk people say you came from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible. Our planets are next to each other, because I live where it's almost impossible to survive," wrote naval commander Serhiy Volina on Twitter, citing Reuters, May 13.

"Help us get out of Azovstal into the intermediate state. If not you, then who? Give me a clue," he continued.

Musk, the world's richest man, owns rocket company SpaceX and electric car maker, Tesla, and plans to buy Twitter. It was not immediately clear whether Musk had seen Volina's tweet.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say there are about 1.000 fighters holding out in Azovstal's many underground tunnels. Hundreds of them were seriously injured and needed immediate evacuation. The factory was under heavy Russian attack. 

In February, when Ukraine's internet was disrupted following the Russian invasion, Musk responded to a tweet by a Ukrainian government official seeking help.

At the time, Musk said SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband service was available in Ukraine and SpaceX was sending more terminals to the country.