On February 24, Russia announced "special military operations" against Ukraine.
On 2 March, Mariupol was surrounded by Russian forces.
On 16 April, the BBC reported that the Azov Steel Works became the last organized resistance stronghold in the siege of Mariupol. The Azov Steel Works became a frequently mentioned location.
On May 16, Ukrainian military personnel at the Azov Steel Plant surrendered unconditionally.
What's so magical about Azov Steel Works?
Why did the Russian army besiege for more than 2 months before it was defeated?
What other earth-shattering secrets are hidden from the Azov Steel Works?
The past and present lives of the Azov Steel Works
The Azovstal, founded in 1933, was a large Steel Plant built in the Soviet Union and supplied a large amount of steel to the Soviet Union during World War II. It was later occupied by the Germans.
After World War II, the Soviet Union rebuilt the Aesvel Steel Plant, and after 90 years of construction, he is now Ukraine and one of the largest steel mills in Europe, producing 4 million tons of steel, 3.5 million tons of molten iron and 1.2 million tons of rolled steel per year in peacetime. 40% of Ukraine's steel production is produced here.
Azovstal Steel Works
Of course, this steel production in China can not enter the top 20.
Nail Household - Azov Steel Works
What made a steel mill stand in the way of the Russian army for more than 2 months.
The steel plant covers an area of 11 square kilometers, in addition to various cement construction pipelines on the ground, there is also an 8-story building structure underneath, and the length of its underground passage alone is more than 24 kilometers.
The Russian news agency quoted a local official in Donetsk as saying that when the Azov steel plant was built, it took into account the possibility of bombing and blockade, and even some buildings were designed to resist nuclear strikes.
The underground fortifications are tens of meters deep (there are reports that hundreds of meters), the tunnel system is intricate, if the food is fully stockpiled, enough for 5,000 people to eat for seven years; open up the underground water layer, do not worry about water sources; underground water sources can generate electricity, there are dozens of electrolyzed water oxygen generators, the ground opening is completely blocked and can breathe freely.
The underground fortifications have been modernized and have a perfect life support system: the fruit and vegetable cultivation greenhouse can grow vegetables and fruits, rice and wheat, etc., can raise chickens and fish, and the self-sufficiency of the defenders has not been a problem for a hundred years.
The perimeter of the fortifications was built with four meters of reinforced concrete, and each entrance was equipped with five gates, one for fire prevention, one for explosion protection, one for chemical weapons, one for biological weapons, and one for nuclear radiation.
The building strength of such underground fortifications, the smaller nuclear weapons, could not take him.
The real reason for the long-term invincibility
Although the Azov steel mill is indeed a very strong fortress, it is doubtful whether it is as indestructible as it is rumored to be.
And even if it is true that it can resist nuclear bombs, chemical, and biological weapons as rumored, under modern warfare, Russia has too many ways to break through here.
The news since May also proves this.
First, militants trapped at the Azov steel plant held large numbers of civilians hostage, even demanding that civilians be exchanged for food and medicine.
This aspect shows that the Azov Steel Plant is not rumored to have a rich stock of materials;
On the other hand, although a large number of civilians have limited the armed forces of the Russian army to a certain extent, it is presumably also willing to expose the abduction of civilians by these militants, thereby enhancing the justice of their military actions.
Second, as early as 10 years ago, NATO sent a large number of military experts to Ukraine.
After the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a large number of "international volunteers" joined the Ukrainian army, and many of these people gathered at the Azov Steel Plant.
Among them, there are many "big fish" spread on the Internet: the general of a certain country?! The son of a president and so on.
Russia hopes to catch a few big fish alive to punch Westerners in the face.
Finally, the concealment and safety of the Azov Steel Works makes it ideal for acting as a chemical laboratory.
According to the analysis of Russian experts, there may be biological laboratories and nuclear weapons laboratories hidden under the Azov Steel Plant, which is a real "big fish".
Although the Ukrainian military personnel have surrendered unconditionally, perhaps the real drama has just begun.