This is the moment Russian sappers explore the abandoned Azovstal plant and apparently discover plentiful supplies of food, water and equipment left by the Azov Battalion after their surrender.

After seizing Mariupol last week, Russian sappers have cleared the area of mines and destroyed over 12,000 explosives, adding that the port city has now returned to normal activity.

Meanwhile, members of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said they found entire workshops and plentiful food supplies in the catacombs of the city’s Azovstal metallurgical plant, suggesting that hundreds of holed-up Azov fighters there did not need to surrender.

The militia said they found 41 workshops, 80 auxiliary buildings and 22 canteens in the plant along with large workshops for allegedly producing explosives, including blast furnaces and rolling mills.

Pro-Russian soldiers also found a large network of tunnels stretching for kilometres under the Azovstal plant, calling it a “city within a city”.

There was also a plentiful supply of drinking water that would have lasted the Azov Battalion for at least several more weeks. According to the militia, there was also a healthy supply of food, medicine and electricity.

Pro-Russian soldiers said they found pasta, sunflower oil, stewed pork, sardines, and different types of canned goods.

Meanwhile, Azov fighters apparently communicated with the use of portable satellite routers after a Starlink router was found in a pickup truck.

Their barracks were located on the lower levels of the Azovstal plant and the DPR claimed they tried to destroy all evidence of their activities before surrendering to Russian troops last week.

The DPR militia said they found electric devices such as phones and laptops that had been destroyed or wiped clean before the Azov soldiers gave themselves up.

Pro-Russian sappers are continuing to explore the abandoned plant after only searching around 30 per cent so far, adding that they expect to discover many more secrets about its former inhabitants before the conflict is concluded.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 91st day of the campaign.

From 24th February to 25th May, the total combat losses of Russian troops stand at around 29,450 personnel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Last week, President Zelenskyy called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine an “absolute failure” and said Russian leaders were afraid to acknowledge “that catastrophic mistakes were made at the highest military and state level”.