Kyiv, March 19 : The Russian and Ukrainian forces on Saturday battled to take control of the huge steel plant in Ukraine’s south eastern city Mariupol. There are conflicting reports over the status of one of Ukraine’s key industrial facilities — the Azov Steel plant in Mariupol, CNN reported. On Friday, a government advisor said the plant was in Russian hands after ongoing battles with Ukrainian troops. However, the Azov battalion, which has a large presence in Mariupol, said on Saturday that the plant remained in their hands, CNN said. “The enemy has not reached this far into the city. The (Ukrainian) navy, along with the Azov battalion, along with the police, continue defending the city and its civilians,” battalion member Vladislav Sobolievskyi told Ukrainian television. “Today the Azov Steel plant is under our control. Air strikes hit the whole city, including the plant, but the enemy has not laid his hands on our plant.” The giant steelworks lies immediately to the east of Mariupol city centre. Losing control of the facility to Russian forces would be a huge setback to Ukrainian efforts to hang on to the city, CNN reported. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army has not observed any significant shifts in the past 24 hours in front line areas, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a statement. The Guardian quoted him as naming the hotspots for the Russian offensive — the southeastern city of Mariupol, the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson and the eastern town of Izyum. VP RNJ