Ukraine war: Historic defense of Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant is foiling Putin’s plans, and that matters

When the history of Russia’s war in Ukraine is written, remember this name: Azovstal.

Ukrainian troops have withstood Russian shelling of the massive steel plant for weeks as most of the rest of the city of Mariupol fell.

Their resistance has forced Russian commanders to devote far more firepower and troops to the fight in this pocket of southeastern Ukraine than planned, undermining and slowing down the broader invasion.

Indeed, the bloody clash has been compared to the brutal Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, when Soviet forces finally held off the Nazi invaders.

However, at the Azovstal steelworks, its defenders remain under fireunder siege and without illusions about the danger.

Built on the coast in the 1930s and spanning more than four square miles, the Azovstal Steelworks is the perfect fortress to withstand the weapons of the 21st century.

It has a network of tunnels buried deep underground, as well as bunkers believed to be designed to withstand a nuclear blast.

For an attacking force, assaulting a well-defended position carries great risk anyway.

But trying to take control of a large factory that includes what is effectively an underground city, even with overwhelming numbers of troops, is extremely dangerous.

Russian troops will know that if they are ordered in, they may well die.

It helps explain why Russia’s much larger army has so far failed to defeat some 2,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up in Azovstal.

Instead, Russian warplanes have been dropping bigger and bigger bombs, but have been unable to break through the resistance.

Vladimir Putin ordered his forces more than two weeks ago to continue to besiege the facility “so that not a fly can get past it.”

But, like an invading force in unknown territory, it’s also notoriously difficult to impose an impenetrable cordon around a target because people are resourceful.

If the Russian troops have succeeded in cutting off all access to food, water and ammunition, of course the Ukrainian defense will eventually collapse.

But if there is a way to keep a trickle of food, water and ammunition in the steel mill, then it could last for weeks or even months.

That said, the conditions for those who hold out inside are hellish.

That is why extracting the last civilians is a priority for the international community, from the head of the United Nations and the Pope on down.

They sought refuge underground from the start of the invasion only to find themselves trapped, with dwindling supplies, in the eye of the storm.

Second on the extraction list are hundreds of wounded Ukrainian fighters who do not have access to proper medical care and will die unnecessarily from their injuries.

The mayor of Mariupol said there was also hope of negotiating the safe exit of the rest of the Ukrainian defenders, who include the Azov regiment, marines, national guardsmen and members of the coast guard.

If that fails, the only other options are for the fighters to hold out while they have ammunition, or for the Ukraine to launch a counterattack to break the Russian siege.

One thing is certain, as long as the Ukrainian defenders remain in the steel mill, they prevent President Putin from declaring victory over all of Mariupol. And that matters.