The commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Serhiy Volynskyi (Volyn), appealed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to use the "extraction" procedure and deport Azovstal defenders and civilians to Turkey.
"Dear Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan [...] We have 600 servicemen with various injuries who are in dire need of help. We have civilians with us who have been injured, and who also need your help. Hundreds of civilians and dozens of children are also looking for safety with us at the facility [...]. I appeal to the Turkish people, to the esteemed President, to apply the extraction procedure to us, to do everything possible to bring the Mariupol garrison to the territory of Turkey," Volynsky told Habertürk TV.
He stressed that the situation in Azovstal is very difficult. The Russians do not stop trying to storm the industrial zone and are constantly shelling it.
- Currently, Ukrainian Marines, Azov Regiment fighters, and about a thousand civilians remain blocked at Azovstal. On April 20, defenders of Mariupol said they were ready to evacuate the city with the support of a third party. On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine was ready to exchange captured Russian servicemen for people from Mariupol.
- On April 21, Putin ordered Russian troops not to storm the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, but troops continued to attack. There are still no agreements on evacuation and humanitarian corridors.
- On the night of April 28, Russian troops struck almost 50 airstrikes on Mariupol and Azovstal. They dropped a lot of phosphorus bombs. In addition, the enemyʼs artillery was constantly working. As a result, a hospital was damaged in the basement of the plant. At least 600 people were injured.