Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the CEO of Metinvest which owns the Azovstal iron and steelworks, has said the situation at the besieged Mariupol plant is a ‘human catastrophe’. He said “Unfortunately, we don’t know how many of our employees are still at the plant. The situation there is, I would say, a humanitarian catastrophe. The food and water that were prepared by us in the shelters are probably over.
“Our last direct contact was some time ago, when we still had some employees with satellite phones, and they were able to conduct their daily meetings. Some people managed to get out at their own risk from the plant and get to our help centre. We’re talking to them and they’re telling us the stories what’s happening there" he added.