Despair in Mariupol’s last stronghold: "They’re bombing us with everything"

The holdouts in the underground fortress represent the last stand of a strategic city that has endured a relentless siege by Russian forces. The remaining defenders’ ordeal has captured global attention as they have held off the enemy for weeks, in what has been likened to a Ukrainian Alamo.

With ammunition and supplies sparse, the men who were interviewed said they were carrying on the fight and refusing to acquiesce to the Kremlin’s demand’s for capitulation. But they acknowledged that they were running out of time and increasingly found it difficult to leave the protection of their shelter because of the heavy bombing…

“Ever since the first invasion, we’ve kept the bunkers in good order and supplied with food and water,” said Galina Yatsura, who heads international communications for Metinvest, adding that the shelters can house up to 4,000 people and are stocked with enough food and water to last three weeks.

Two employees who stayed at the plant in the early days of the siege said that more than 2,000 civilians had been staying there, many of them family members of employees.