Ruined Mariupol forever etched in Ukraine’s history

Women walk past a destroyed building in Mariupol (Alexei Alexandrov/AP)

The ruined seaside city of Mariupol, whose capture has become a key Russian objective, is now irrevocably etched into Ukrainian history, regardless of the outcome of the war.

In the end, a small group of outgunned and outmanned nationalist fighters held out for months, drawing Russian airstrikes, artillery and tank fire down upon the massive Azovstal steel plant, where they made their last stand.