The leader of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, announced that the pro-Russian militias he led had managed to take control of the port of the strategic city of Donetsk Mariupolon the shores of the Sea of Azov in eastern Ukraine.
“Regarding the port of Mariupolis now under our control,” Pushilin said on Russian television. On the other hand, the separatists indicated that the last defenders of the Ukrainian army were in this city at the Azovstal and Azovmach factories.
The port of Mariupol seen from a satellite.
Azovstal is a huge metallurgical complex that provides access to the port of Mariupol. Pro-Russian forces estimate that between 1,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers are still there resisting their Kremlin-backed advance.
This port city has been suffering for weeks under one of the worst scenarios of the war in Ukraine, with tens of thousands of people virtually without water and food. Images captured by a drone show Mariupol reduced to ashes.
Source: (VOA News)
The pro-Russian separatists also announced that they would intensify their efforts for a full takeover of the Donetsk region, one of the two regions of the Donbass.
“The operation will intensify because the longer we hesitate, the more the civilian population, held hostage by the situation, will suffer,” Pushilin told a news conference in the city of Donetsk, which has been under the control of his armed forces since 2014.
A destroyed building in Mariupol.
The number of civilian deaths
The UN (United Nations Organization) was able to confirm that 1,842 civilians lost their lives, including almost 150 children. On the other hand, the wounded amount to 2,493, according to figures confirmed by the international organization.
Most died from being hit by explosive weapons, both bombardments and rockets.
Journalists photograph a mass grave in the city of Bucha.
The UN is conducting an independent count but acknowledging reviews take time, leaving the numbers well below the thousands of deaths reported by the Ukrainian government, particularly in Mariupol.