Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the troops on Thursday for the “successful conclusion of the fighting to liberate Mariupol”, but at the same time announced that the huge steelworks in Azov should not be invaded. He ordered the factory and associated bunkers besieged – so close that “not a fly can get out”. The city’s last defenders barricaded themselves in this, but with dwindling resources.
Russia has understood that the steel industry cannot be taken by force, Oleksiy Arestovych, a close adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Thursday. The US immediately announced fundamental doubts about Russia’s conquest of the strategically important port city. US President Joe Biden said “there is still no evidence that Mariupol has completely fallen”.
AP/Planet Labs Aerial photo of the Azov Plant – impacts can also be seen on the roof
The US State Department also announced in the evening that, in its opinion, Ukrainian troops would apparently continue to control parts of the city. The “media show” put on by Putin and his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could be just another case of Russian disinformation, according to US State Department spokesman Ned Price. Even Selenskyj did not consider the city completely lost – but he leaves no doubt that the situation is extremely critical.
“Decisive Days”
“The situation is difficult, the situation is bad,” Zelenskyi told reporters in Kiev on Thursday, according to local media. “There are more than 400 wounded in that citadel. It’s just the soldiers.” There are also wounded civilians. Kiev has already proposed several options to Moscow, including a “wounded-for-wounded” swap.
“We have decisive days ahead, the decisive battle for our state, for our country, for the Ukrainian Donbas,” Zelenskyy said, calling for more weapons and other support. The entrenched troops said recently that the situation was critical and that Russia was in the majority. The online edition of the German “Zeit” reached out to entrenched commander Serhiy Wolyna on Thursday, who recently caused an uproar with a video appeal for quick help.
Many people included
Russia announces the fall of the strategically important Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. However, many Ukrainian fighters and civilians are still trapped in a steel mill in the city.
He reported to “Zeit” that conditions were persistently critical. It is “hard to say” how long stocks will last. But “not long.” He described the living conditions as “terrible”: “No food, no ammunition, no medical care”, while at the same time they were “under constant fire and bombardment”. Morale is “high”, but the situation is difficult.
Hardly any chance to escape
Escape runners are also very rare and, according to Kiev, none can be organized on Thursday. “Everything is difficult, chaotic, slow and of course dishonest on the part of the Russians,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram on Thursday.
Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko Special forces for the evacuation of victims
The only hope is that four buses from Mariupol made it to Berdyansk the day before. Three of the buses arrived in the government area. The whereabouts of a bus is unknown. According to media reports, nearly 80 people arrived in Zaporizhia. According to pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, around 130 people used a ceasefire called by Russian military leadership to flee the previous day.
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According to Ukrainian information, more than 100,000 people are said to be in Mariupol. The separatists speak of more than twice as many residents. According to official figures, 440,000 people lived in the city before the start of the Russian war of aggression in late February.
Reported mass grave enlargement
Ukraine expects tens of thousands of deaths in the port city. On Thursday, the Maxar satellite imagery service reported that mass graves near the city had been enlarged. One camp was expanded in recent weeks and now contains more than 200 new graves, the US company said.
A comparison of images from mid-March to mid-April suggests that the enlargement started between 23 and 26 March. The mass grave is located near an existing cemetery in the village of Manhush, 20 kilometers west of Mariupol.
Russia: negotiations continue
According to Russian sources, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are continuing. Russia is still awaiting a response to its latest proposals related to the deliberations, said Presidential Office spokesman Dmitry Peskov. We are surprised by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s statement that he had not seen the latest proposals.
Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he had not seen or heard anything about a document the Russian leadership sent to Ukraine. He told Standard (online edition) that Ukraine would not accept Moscow as a location.