One of the Ukrainian militants still trapped in the Azovstal factory in Mariupol describes the horrific conditions in which the wounded were found.
Read more: Live | 81st day of fighting in Ukraine
Read more: Relatives of Azovstal militants seek help from the Chinese president
Read more: Azovstel: Kiev discussed with Moscow the expulsion of 38 players who were seriously injured
An unidentified militant, who spoke on Ukrainian television from inside the factory, said about 600 people had been injured in the vast campus. “The conditions are very dire,” he said.
“I was in the hospital today. It is a large gymnasium with several dozen beds. Everything else is just on the ground. The militants are lying without limbs, without arms, without legs, ”the militant said.
AFP
“They are dying in large numbers because we cannot provide adequate medical care. There are no drugs. People with serious injuries … it is almost impossible to save them,” he said.
He describes the health conditions in the hospital as “completely unhygienic”.
“It’s already hot, so there are flies. The smell is disgusting,” said the soldier.
AFP
The militant says that after the roof of the operating room collapsed, it was moved to the same room where the hospital was. Doctors operate without anesthesia.
The militant confirms that he witnessed the operation of a soldier with serious injuries to his leg. “She had a belt between her teeth. She was not given anesthesia. Two doctors are trying to take something from her. She screams at that belt and her leg trembles.”
AFP
The militant said he was not sure if all the civilians had been evacuated from the large compound.
“No one can be 100% sure. Suppose we expelled civilians we knew. They may be somewhere under the rubble, in some bunkers. We have not explored some shelters yet. Therefore, no one can be 100% sure. But those who were here expelled all the civilians we knew.
There has been no news on the progress of negotiations to evacuate the seriously injured from Azovstale. Last Friday, President Voloymyr Zelensky said the talks were tough.
AFP
“At the moment, there are very difficult negotiations going on about the next phase of the evacuation process: the withdrawal of the seriously injured and the doctors. We are talking about a large number of people.
Photos released by the Azov Regiment also show the harsh reality of wounded soldiers crying for help.
AFP
“The whole civilized world needs to see the conditions under which Mariupolin’s wounded and disabled bodyguards find themselves and act! (…) We call on the UN and the Red Cross to show humanity and reaffirm the basic principles you have developed by assisting non-combatant wounded.
Russian forces have been trying to seize the factory since May 3. More than a thousand soldiers, many of whom were wounded, are still trapped inside large iron factories. The Azovstel factory was the last pocket of protest in the port city of Mariupol, now controlled by the Russians.
On May 7, all women, children and the elderly were evicted from the factory.
