The city Mariupol in southern Ukraine under siege, accepts heavy bombardment from the Russian forces after the start of the war on 24 February and is faced with a dramatic humanitarian situationis a prize of strategic importance for Moscow and has become a symbol resistance for Ukraine.
According to the mayor of the city, almost 5,000 people have been killedbuildings across the city have been destroyed, and 290,000 people have fled by March 27 and at least 160,000 are still trapped without electricity, having at their disposal a few foods or other supplies.
Why is the city so important?
Position of strategic importance
Mariupol is the Ukraine’s largest city in the Sea of ​​Azov, which connects to the Black Sea via the Kerch Strait. The city was named after Maria Fyodorovna, wife of the Russian emperor Alexandrou G.‘, and is located about 70 km from the border with Russia. It is also a few kilometers from the territories of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since 2014.
Its occupation Mariupol will allow Russia to build a land bridge between the two separatist, self-proclaimed Donbass and in the Crimean region, which Russia occupied and annexed in 2014.
The occupation of Mariupol would also give Russia control of the Ukrainian coast in Sea of ​​Azovas he also tries to cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea. Russian forces have already occupied the Black Sea port of Kherson, about 380 km from Mariupol, and Russia controls the Crimean Black Sea ports.
THE “fall” of Mariupol and the creation of a land corridor will enable Russian forces to encircle the Ukrainian military forces that before the war relied on the line of contact around territories controlled by the separatists.
The occupation of Mariupol would give the Russian troops stationed there the opportunity to advance towards new military targets such as the strengthening of other fronts.
The economic dimension
Mariupol plays an important role for economy of Ukraine as the port is used for the export of iron, steel, grain and heavy machinery, an important source of income for the Ukrainian government.
It was traditionally an important port of export coal during the Soviet era, when from 1948 to 1989 he was known as Zdanov, who was the name of a communist leader born there.
A senior industry official said on March 21 that Ukraine was facing a potential loss of $ 6 billion in grain revenue due to the blockade of ports by Russia, including Mariupol.
Countries based on Ukrainian wheat imports include Egypt, Turkey and Yemen. War contributes to global food inflation.
Mariupol is also home to Illich Iron and Steel Works, the second largest metallurgical plant in Ukraine, and Azovstal Iron and Steel, one of the largest steel rolling mills in the country.
Mariupol has deeper berths than other Ukrainian ports in the region. Its control could help Russia move equipment, goods and personnel more quickly and easily between Russia, Donbass and Crimea.
David and Goliath
Mariupol has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance, with the city’s leaders portraying as heroes the almost unarmed defenders of the whole who are fighting an unequal battle similar to a battle between David and Goliath.
Some foreign and Ukrainian leaders compare the devastation in Mariupol to that caused by Russian attacks on the Syrian city of Aleppo and Grozny in Chechnya.
Mariupol would be the first large city in Ukraine to fall into the hands of Russian invaders. Its “fall” would be a potentially severe psychological blow to Ukraine’s morale.
It could whet Russia’s appetite and be seen by President Vladimir Putin as a major victory in a war that Western military experts say is largely fighting to achieve its goals.
Moscow defeats the order Azov, a far-right, neo-Nazi militia that belongs to the National Guard of Ukraine and fights for the defense of Mariupol. One of the declared goals of Putin’s “special operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine. Western leaders say this was an unfounded pretext for an unwarranted war, but Putin is likely to see a defeat for Azov’s forces or the capture of any of his fighters as a milestone.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
