Photo by Dmytro Kozatsky | The Azovstal plant, Mariupol. May 7, 2022 | Ukrainian soldiers inside the ruined Azovstal metalworking plant.
“Remember the ALAMO! …and those that DIED! The Texans came from Far & Wide… to stand at Sam Houston’s Side!” All schoolchildren who grew up in Texas (including myself) had to memorize these lines. We must remember the Alamo—the rallying cry that eventually led to the defeat of General Santa Anna’s Mexican Army at San Jacinto in 1836. As I listen to the news, several anchormen have referred to the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol as Ukraine’s “Alamo.” Like the stubborn Texans, the Azov Battalion—plus women and children—are holed up there against continual onslaught by the Russians. Like the Alamo, the Azovstal will surely fall: they are outnumbered and outgunned. The fall of the Azovstal will be a rallying cry for Ukrainians: “Remember the AZOVSTAL! …and those that DIED! The Ukrainians came from Far & Wide…to stand at Freedom’s Side!”
— Russell Solomon from the State of Texas