Russian Troops Try To Invade Azovstal Despite 'Forbidden' President Putin, Ukrainian Marine Commander: Situation Is Deteriorating Fast

Kawasan Pabrik Baja Azovstal in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons / Chad Nagle)

JAKARTA - Russian troops attempted to storm the Ukrainian-controlled Azovstal steel plant in the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's comments last week that the complex did not need to be taken over.

The command of the Ukrainian armed forces wrote on Facebook that Russian troops shot and carried out offensive operations in the Azovstal area, as well as carried out air strikes on civilian infrastructure.

Serhiy Volyna, commander of the 36th Marines brigade of Ukraine in Mariupol, said in an interview with an opposition lawmaker that was shown on YouTube on Sunday that Russia attacked the compound with aerial bombardment and artillery.

"We have casualties, the situation is critical. We have very many people injured, (some) dying, it's a difficult (situation) with weapons, ammunition, food, medicine, the situation is deteriorating rapidly," said Volyna, speaking from its location at the factory, cited from Reuters, April 25.

Meanwhile, Konstantin Ivaschenko, the official appointed mayor of Mariupol by Russia but not recognized by Ukraine, denied any fighting was taking place in the city, in comments reported by Russian news outlet TASS on Sunday.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the Ukrainian or Russian information.

The Azovstal steelworks is Ukraine's main remaining stronghold in Mariupol, a city that has endured ongoing bombardment since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.

Earlier on Sunday, adviser to Ukrainian President Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook, "Russian forces are trying to finish off the defenders of Azovstal and more than 1,000 civilians hiding in the factory".

Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine.

Later on Sunday, Arestovych said in a video speech released by the president's office, Ukraine offered Russia a "special" round of negotiations to be held in Mariupol, to discuss the fate of Ukrainian civilians and troops still trapped in the city.

The negotiations will aim to establish an immediate ceasefire in Mariupol, a humanitarian corridor of "a few days", and the release or exchange of Ukrainian fighters trapped at the Azovstal factory, Arestovych said.

It is known that Russian troops surrounded the Azovstal factory in early March and gradually took control of most of the city.

Last Thursday, President Putin declared Mariupol had been "liberated" and publicly told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to cancel the raid on the Azovstal factory in order to save the lives of Russian soldiers.

Instead, President Putin said the factory should be "blocked so that not a single fly can enter or leave."

"I consider the proposed invasion of industrial zones unnecessary," he told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a televised meeting in the Kremlin last week.

"I ordered you to cancel it," he insisted.

"There is no need to climb into this catacomb and crawl underground through this industrial facility. Block this industrial area so that even a fly cannot enter," he said.

Defense Minister Shoigu estimates 2.000 Ukrainian fighters are still in the factory. President Putin called on them to surrender, saying Russia would treat them with respect.