Conditions that are such that the occupier keeps changing them. reporter: the russians and their allies the separatists of the self-styled donetsk people s republic are showing off their newly won territory, or at least the ruins they fought to seize. this commander points to i amassive crater just outside the azovstal plant. he says the bodies of ukrainian soldiers are everywhere. we find more and more of them, he adds. amid the ruins of mariupol, once a thriving city of 400,000 people, the new authorities are changing the road signs into russian. ukrainian officials expect they will organize a parade on may 9th, when russia celebrates its victory in the second world war. whether the azovstal complex is quiet and empty by then or still being pulverized no one knows. what s certain are the scars that will remain. isa soares, cnn, lviv, ukraine.
They are just some of the hundreds of civilians who have now been evacuated from the steel plant in mariupol, ukraine. many more may still be trapped there. as the russian attack gets even more intense. our own cal perry following today s developments from kyiv. he joins us live. cow we are now going into day 71. mariupol has been described as a decimated. obliterated, but still there are civilians there. what is the latest? so the latest is that that steel plant which is actually a compound. it s a azovstal complex, it s a number of buildings, according to the mayor. russian troops have broken into the complex. they are inside of the outer perimeter, that existed there. they are fighting just above where the civilians are. at one point today, the government lost communications with the people inside that steel plant. so it s possible that what you saw there from our colleague matt bradley, interviewing civilians. those could be the last civilians to make it out of
Compound. it s a azovstal complex, it s a number of buildings, according to the mayor. russian troops have broken into the complex. they are inside of the outer perimeter, that existed there. they are fighting just above where the civilians are. at one point today, the government lost communications with the people inside that steel plant. so it s possible that what you saw there from our colleague matt bradley, interviewing civilians. those could be the last civilians to make it out of there. that may have been the last window. russia has started pulling back some of its troops from mariupol. i think there s real concern that this could be it, this could be the end of that last sort of stand out. and what happens to those civilians? we don t know, we know there are hundreds of wounded ukrainian troops in and around the basement of that steel plant. what happens to them? we just simply don t know, as russian forces look like they are completing their takeover of the entire city, stepha
Regimen. she begged her daughter to leave azovstal, but she rejected two offers. she is in that hell, she tells me. we try to call natalia to no avail. later, though, we manage to reach natalia via text message. morale is high, she writes back. the soldiers will fight to the end. wait for us to come back with victory. not all have come back, though. she tells me her granddaughter s husband died in mariupol. his body moved to the azovstal complex, unable to be brought home. her insurmountable loss just too much to bear. i have this wound for the rest of my life. it s very difficult to live with, she tells me. of course i m proud that they died for ukraine.
Daughter to leave azovstal but rejected two offers to surrender. she is in that hell, she tells me. we tried to call natalia to no avail. later, though, we managed to reach natalia via text message. morale is high, she writes back, the soldiers will fight to the end. wait for us to come back with victory. not all have come back, though. she tells me her granddaughter s husband died in mariupol, his body moved to the azovstal complex, unable to be brought home. her insurmountable loss just too much to bear. i have this wound for the rest of my life. it s sle difficult to live with, she tells me. of course i m proud that they died for ukraine. she tells me she finds solace working on her plot of land and