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Analysis

Media Battle for Azovstal and First Casualties

The truth may be found thanks to the testimonies of the victims,

Dozens of civilians from Azovstal were interrogated by the Russian side in the special centers for refugees established in the village of Bezimennoe.

People confirmed that they were taken hostage.

Some of them claimed that they were not aware of any humanitarian corridors.

On the other hand, some of them claimed that the Azov militants assured the civilians that they could leave Azovstal, but Russian soldiers would not assure their security and might kill them. Such claims were blatant lies aimed to threaten the civilians and force them to stay in the basements, playing the role of human shields for Ukrainian militants.

At the same time, most of civilians confirm that Azov fighters were quite polite towards them, especially towards children. Ukrainian militants hided the fact that civilians were held hostage, assuring that they were under protection. However, some civilians claimed that they were asked to dig trenches and help the militants.

On the other hand, Azov militants filmed civilians during the evacuation, quickly asking some politically engaged questions. Civilians seem to be thankful to their “saviours”, claiming their desire to leave for the territory of Ukraine. Women claim that they are afraid of Russian soldiers who allegedly could not assure their security during the transportation to the Zaporizhia region.

  • In fact, the Russian military proclaimed that the civilians are free to choose any direction of their evacuation. So far, 69 civilians decided to leave for the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. They were handed over to representatives of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the first column has arrived to the city of Zaporizhia. The others decided to stay in the Donetsk People’s Republic or to go to Russia.

One of the main idea of the informational campaign of the Ukrainian side is that the “brave” Azov fighters managed to pull the hundred of civilians out from the rubbles in the basements after the fierce bombardment of the Russian artillery and aviation.

  • According to the representatives of the Azov regiment, there are still civilians left in the destroyed facilities.

However, as it is clearly seen on the videos from the spot, all civilians are safe, their clothes are clear enough and noone is seen having any wounds.

None of civilians confirmed on the camera that their basements were destroyed and that the Azov militants saved them from debris. No footage showing the process supported the claims.

In a separate appeal, the Azov sources shared a photo and a video showing two women who were reportedly killed during the Russian attack. It is worth noting that the clothes of the dead are clear, while they were reportedly digged up from the debris.

The video shows the man who is more concerned of glorifying the Azov fighters then of mourning the dead. At the first glance it can be noted that he avoids looking in the camera. Two girls, whose faces are not shown and who are allegedly crying near the corpses are also seen on the video. It is also clear that the victims were killed likely hours before, but not right away.

The details of the incident are yet to be revealed.

It should not be excluded that Ukrainian militants may kill some of the civilians to hide the truth and support their lies.

The desperate attempts of the Ukrainian regime to whitewash the nationalist fighters is destroyed by their own lies.

The fact that there are still civilians in Azovstal is yet to be confirmed. According to the claims of civilians, there were less then a hundred of them in the basements.

  • However, they were reportedly held in different rooms so the numbers they claim are not precise.

Even in the case if there are still hostages in the facilities, the claims of the Azov militants are not aimed at saving their lives (if so the remnants would be evacuated days before), but only at postponing the assault or destruction of the Azovstal plant by Russian forces.

Following the traditional strategy of the Azov-styled propaganda, they will release more videos showing the remnants in the plant, which should be carefully verified.

Today, the Russian military command is well avare of what is going on in the basements of the plant.

  • If there are more civilians, then another ceasefire regime is likely to be proclaimed in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Azovstal is another battlefield of the war in Ukraine. No ceasefire regime has been proclaimed for several days. The precise shelling on the firing points of the Azov militants continue.

  • On May 4, the commander of the Azov regiment, Denis Prokopenko, announced the breakthrough of Russian forces into the territory of the Azovstal plant. He said that the troops of Russia and the DPR broke through to the plant a day before, there are bloody battles and the situation is reportedly critical.

The Russian military sources on the spot confirmed that Russian and LPR forces opened fire in response to the fire from the plant.

  • As a result, they managed to advance on the territory of the facilities and take control of some new positions, reinforcing the pressure on Ukrainian militants.

The increase of hostilities may mark the last days before the surrender of destruction of the grouping of Ukrainian nationalists in Azovstal.

Source: SOUTHFRONT