After weeks of holing up inside Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant, a Ukrainian commander appealed to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday to help the country’s defenders escape the besieged plant.
Major Serhiy Volyna who is the acting commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, directly appealed to Musk on Twitter.
“@elonmusk people say you come from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible,” Volyna wrote in his tweet.
“Our planets are next to each other, as I live where it is nearly impossible to survive. Help us get out of Azovstal to a mediating country. If not you, then who? Give me a hint,” he questioned.
The commander revealed on Facebook that he had created an account on Twitter solely to reach out to Musk, who is currently in the middle of completing his acquisition of the microblogging platform.
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On Facebook, Volyna urged “every person on planet Earth, help make Elon” to view his plea.
In April, the commander uploaded a viral video on Facebook, calling for top global leaders to help Ukrainian defenders escape Azovstal after observing that their Russian equivalents outnumber them.
“We will not lay down our weapons,” he stated in the video.
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Volyna is one of the last defenders battling the Russian siege in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. His appeal comes as officials attempt to strike a deal with Russia to evacuate wounded fighters.
Ukrainian soldiers holding out in the steelworks plant are experiencing dire circumstances, struggling to find access to food and medical care for the injured.
According to Newsweek, the Azov Battalion revealed details of “completely unsanitary conditions, with open wounds dressed with non-sterile remnants of bandages.”
“We demand the immediate evacuation of wounded servicemen to Ukrainian-controlled territories where they will be assisted and provided with proper care,” the unit said.
