About 120,000 civilians are being prevented from leaving the besieged Mariupol, the Ukrainian president said. Volodymyr Zelensky.
Responding to an earlier statement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Russian forces were in control of most of Mariupol, Zelensky said Russia did indeed control most of it, but some Ukrainian troops remained.
The remaining Ukrainian soldiers are at the Azovstal steel plant, from where they are resisting the Russian siege.
Zelensky said Ukraine had “offered all options” to Russia for the exchange of civilians and soldiers from Mariupol and was waiting for Moscow’s response.
At a press conference given by her mayor on Thursday afternoon Mariupol, Vadim Boichenkosaid that about 200 residents of the martyrdom city are waiting for buses to escape.
However, buses have not yet arrived, Boichenko added, adding that about 100,000 people remain in the city.
According to him, it is difficult to estimate how many civilians are inside the Azofstal steel plant, but he estimates that they are between 300 and 1,000.
Boichenko noted that there is no possibility of evacuation today.
Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to seal the factory so that “not a single fly could escape” and claimed that Mariupol, which had been almost completely destroyed by Russian bombing, had been “liberated” from Moscow.
“Whatever statements are made, the city is and remains a city of Ukraine,” Boychenko said.
Meanwhile, regarding the change of tactics of Vladimir Putin, earlier the BBC commented it remains to be seen which stance the Russians will eventually follow.
If they eventually choose not to attack, the possible reasons that led to this development are the following:
- The Russian president is looking forward to continuing his offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
- The battle for Mariupol has depleted vital resources and pinned down Russian troops that could be used to pursue broader goals.
- Separated from the center of Mariupol by a river, the huge steel plant should be relatively easy to isolate, but if Putin wants to be sure that “not a fly will pass,” he will have to let significant forces guard it.
- With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing to cancel peace talks if the city’s last defenders are killed, it is also possible that Putin wants to keep the diplomatic process alive, or at least something that looks like a bargaining chip.
The BBC also notes that there may be an economic dimension to the decision. Azofstal is one of the largest steel mills in Europe. Even after weeks of bombing, Moscow can hope that there is something worth rescuing.
Who are inside
Inside the factory is the 36th Marine Brigade. On Wednesday, its commander said his troops would not be handed over, but called for international help for the 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of women and children who he said were hiding with them at the steel plant.
Members of the Brigade were the British Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, who were defending Mariupol and were arrested by Russian forces last week.
Also inside the factory is the Azov Brigade, the militia affiliated with far-right nationalists, which was later incorporated into the Ukrainian National Guard. Their number is estimated at about 900 soldiers.
It is not clear how many Ukrainian soldiers are left at the plant, although Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said there were more than 2,000.
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