"Fierce Battle at Mariupol Steel Plant in Ukraine... Communication Cut Off"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Fierce fighting is underway on the 4th (local time) at the Azovstal steel plant, the last battleground in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine, the mayor of Mariupol revealed.

Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, said on state TV that intense fighting is ongoing at the Azovstal steel plant and that contact with Ukrainian fighters has been lost, according to foreign media reports.

Mariupol is a major Ukrainian port city and a strategic key point connecting the Crimean Peninsula, forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014, and the eastern part of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces.

Since the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian forces have surrounded the area and launched concentrated offensives. The Azovstal steel plant has been used as a shelter by Ukrainian troops and civilians and remains the last stronghold in Mariupol.

Russia claims to have already taken control of Mariupol.