The fall of industrial district would give Russians control of key Ukrainian port
Moscow said it had taken control of the port in Mariupol on Wednesday, and over 1,000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered in the southeastern city as Russia gears up to renew its attack in the Donbas region.
The Kremlin said 1,026 marines, including 162 officers, had waved the white flag “as a result of successful offensives by Russian armed forces and Donetsk People’s Republic militia units” —one of the two breakaway, pro-Russian, self-proclaimed republics near the Illich Iron and Steel Works.
Russia’s defense ministry later said Ukraine’s major trade seaport in Mariupol was under complete control, and some of the Ukrainian forces were blocked and unable to escape, Interfax news agency reported.
Ukraine’s general staff acknowledged that Russian forces were attacking Azovstal and the port. A defense ministry spokesman said he had no information about any surrender.
Fall of Azovstal industrial district
The capture of the Azovstal industrial district would give the Russians complete control of Mariupol, Ukraine’s key port, the Sea of Azov, strengthen the southern land corridor, and expand its occupation to the regions in the east.
Encircled and bombarded by Russian troops, Mariupol would be the first major city to fall since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a supporter of Russian President Putin, urged the remaining Ukrainians trapped in Azovstal to surrender.
“Within Azovstal at the moment, there are about 200 wounded who cannot receive any medical assistance,” Kadyrov said in a Telegram post.
“For them and all the rest, it would be better to end this pointless resistance and go home to their families.”
Picture Credit: Yahoo
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