Residents of Mariupol in front of buildings devastated by Russian strikes in the south of the city, Ukraine, April 21, 2022. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/ REUTERS
Victory is at hand, glory is at hand, Mariupol is “liberated”. In a rare civilian public appearance on Thursday, April 21, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu assured his commander in chief that the southern Ukrainian city was “fully under control” after more than fifty days in office.
“Convey our thanks to the troops and please submit your proposals to reward the soldiers who have distinguished themselves,” Vladimir Putin replied as medals and honors rained down on the Russian army in recent weeks, including the Vehicles of the 64th Rifle Brigade, accused of committing war crimes north of Kyiv, specifically at Boutcha.
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“In our eyes they are all heroes, in the eyes of all Russia they are heroes,” Putin said again, referring to the “success” of the Mariupol battle. This would ratify this first victory, which has been announced several times as imminent and is important for the Russian army. With one detail: the presence of a last field of Ukrainian fighters underground at the Azovstal metallurgical complex, which Moscow estimates at 2,000 men, members of the Azov regiment or the 36th naval brigade.
“It will take three or four days” to overcome it, Minister Shoigu warned, interrupted by the President: “I do not think the planned attack on the industrial area is appropriate. I order to cancel this order. We must think about protecting the lives of our soldiers and our officers. No need to crawl in these catacombs, cordon off this whole area so no fly can get by. »
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These instructions don’t change things much: Moscow has repeatedly asked the Ukrainian soldiers to surrender and offered guarantees that they consider insufficient. In desperate appeals, these militants demand to be evacuated to Ukrainian territory or to a third country. On Thursday evening they assured that the bombing had resumed as usual. The civilians entrenched with them, whose presence Moscow initially denied, could not be taken out either. It would essentially be the families of Mariupol’s military and civil servants.
Claim a significant first win
In any case, this order, issued directly by Vladimir Putin, is a first since the start of his “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24. After the practice that the Russian President announces only positive news, he could only be magnanimous. First of all, by making the fate of Azovstal an insignificant detail, it allows Moscow to finally achieve its first significant victory. A success that US President Joe Biden still classified as “questionable” on Thursday. “There is still no evidence that Mariupol is completely lost,” he stressed, while assuring that the Kremlin chief “will never succeed in controlling and occupying all of Ukraine. That will not happen”.
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