Moscow now says that the alleged capture of Mariupol and Azovstal are allegedly different and unrelated goals.
Vladimir Putin hastened to praise the Russian army for “liberation” “Mariupol after two months of fierce fighting. And this may be the same “great success” that Moscow dreams of. However, Ukraine rejected Russia's declared victory, pointing to strong resistance from the Ukrainian military to Azovstal.
The Financial Times writes, reminding that the defenders of the city are still defending themselves at the metallurgical plant, where about a thousand civilians are also hiding. But during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Putin told him to congratulate the Russian army on the capture of the Ukrainian city, which has become an important goal for connecting the occupied part of Donbass with the territories occupied in southern Ukraine. But Shoigu, while insisting that the Russian army controlled Mariupol's residential areas, acknowledged that fighting for Azovstal was ongoing. In response, Putin advised him not to storm the plant, but instead “block it so that the fly does not fly”.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later stated that Azovstal was allegedly a “separate target.” And the fact that barricading Ukrainian soldiers there does not mean that Russia will change its plan of invasion.
“The capture of Mariupol – an important port for the export of Ukrainian metals – allows Moscow to connect the annexed Crimea with Russia. This would potentially allow Putin to declare that he has achieved his main goals, although the invasion is still ongoing. Shoigu also said that Mariupol was the “capital” of the Azov nationalist battalion, which potentially gives Russia the opportunity to declare that it has already achieved its vague goal of “denazifying” Ukraine, “the article reads.
In Kyiv, they say that Mariupol is actually destroyed. And during the Russian siege, which was accompanied by heavy artillery shelling, missile strikes and bombings, at least 20,000 civilians were killed. The Ukrainian government is working to establish a safe corridor so that soldiers and civilians, including children, can leave Mariupol.
It should be noted that heavy bombs have been purposefully dropped on the Azovstal plant in recent days. Two days ago, the Azov Regiment reported that the plant was “almost completely destroyed.”
In addition to the Azov Regiment, the plant also hosts fighters of the 36th Brigade Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Navy and about a thousand civilians. “Azovstal” , became another cry of the crying in the desert. Another testimony of hell on earth. For more information on the Pope's risk of losing Ukraine in this war, read Kateryna Shchotkina's article “ Get Out of Hell “.
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