The commander of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Infantry Brigade, Serhiy Volynsky, called for the evacuation of soldiers and civilians in Mariupol, a Ukrainian city besieged by the Russians, from the Azovtal factory. In a video message released today by Ukrainian media, Volynsky said “this could be the last call.” “We may have a few more days or hours.” At least 500 soldiers are said to have been injured at the compound, which also houses civilians.
The Russian Defense Ministry renewed the ultimatum to the Ukrainian military at the Azovtal Steel Plant in Mariupol, southern Ukraine. The deadline ran until 8:00 a.m. Brazilian time this Wednesday (20), the 56th day of the Russian war on Ukrainian territory. At the end of the hour there has been no Ukrainian capitulation and no further Russian demonstrations against it. The factory is the main bastion of the resistance in Mariupol.
At the same time, there will be an evacuation corridor that the Ukrainian government says it has been able to negotiate. “Today, given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Mariupol, we will direct our efforts in this direction,” said Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk. “We managed to agree in advance on a humanitarian corridor for women, children and the elderly.”
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko also urged residents to evacuate the city. “Already 200,000 residents of Mariupol have managed to leave the city. Today these people are safe.” Boychenko estimates that 6,000 civilians will be evacuated from Mariupol.
The Russian offensive to capture eastern Ukraine continues today with hundreds of attacks. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russia is “trying to continue operations” to attack in the east “to gain full control over the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions” that make up the breakaway Donbass region. “The enemy continues to fire missiles and bombs against military and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.”
Regarding negotiations to end the war, Russia said today that “the ball is on the Ukrainian side”. Also on Wednesday (20th), Russian President Vladimir Putin said again that he was “forced” to have no choice but to launch a “special military operation” over proRussian groups in Ukraine’s separatist areas.
According to the UN (United Nations), more than 5 million people have already fled Ukraine because of the Russiansponsored conflict.
According to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, Russia is dropping bombs on the Azovstal plant in Mariupol
Image: Reproduction/SPRAVDI
Appeal
According to the commander of the 36th brigade in Mariupol, there are ten Russians for every Ukrainian soldier. “They have dominance in the air, in artillery, in personnel operating on land, in equipment and in tanks,” Wolynsky said in the video. “We are only defending in one place, the Azovstal factory, where, in addition to the military, there are also civilians who are victims of the war.”
The commander appealed to “world leaders” for help. “We ask that the ‘withdrawal’ procedure be used, stating that they would like to be taken to another country.
According to Volynsky, there are more than 500 wounded soldiers at the scene and hundreds of civilians, including children and women.
“While Russia is cynically dropping heavy bombs on people’s heads, our military reports that there are 500 wounded soldiers and several hundred civilians on the territory of the plant,” said Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, which claims the attacks on Azovstal went on.
Russia’s defense ministry said its armed forces, “guided by purely human principles,” today set a new deadline “to cease all hostilities and lay down arms.” “All who laid down their arms were guaranteed the preservation of life.” According to the Russian agency RIA, five Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in Mariupol. The information could not be verified with independent sources.
The Russian army and its separatist supporters have been attempting for nearly two months to take control of Mariupol, a major port city that has been bombed and teetered on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The last Ukrainians defending the city are mostly entrenched in the Azovstal metallurgical complex, a collection of factories and underground passages from which Russian forces are trying to evict them.
Regarding Mariupol, in today’s report, the Ukrainian defense said only that “the enemy’s main efforts are aimed at capturing the city and continuing the attack in the area of \u200b\u200bthe plant.”
Picture: UOL Art.No
Russian attacks
In its report today, the Russian defense said that “1,053 objects of Ukrainian military infrastructure” were attacked. “Among these, 31 command posts, six fuel and lubricants depots, 910 enemy fortresses and manpower concentration areas, and 106 artillery firing posts were destroyed,” the statement said.
For its part, Ukraine also said it had hit Russian military targets “using all available firearms: antiaircraft missiles, manportable antiaircraft missile systems, including foreign antiaircraft weapons and other means of destruction.”
At least nine Russian aircraft were destroyed in southern and eastern Ukraine yesterday. The information, both from Russians and Ukrainians, could not be verified with independent sources.
However, the Ukrainian defense reiterated the complaint that “it has not received any new aircraft from partners”. However, it was noted that “with the help of the United States government, the Ukrainian Air Force received spare parts and components for the restoration and repair of the aircraft fleet.”
Besides Mariupol, the most intense fighting is going on in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense today reported “attempted attacks” in the villages of Sulygivka and Dibrivne in the Kharkiv region and in the key cities of Rubishne and Severodonetsk in the Lugansk region.
Lugansk Governor Sergei Gaidai has again appealed to civilians to flee the area. “The situation is getting more complicated by the hour,” he warned. The bombardment also intensified in the south, another front line. The towns of Mala, Tokmak and Orekhov, 70 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhia, have suffered from increasing violence.
People queue to fill gallons with water in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine
Image: Reproduction/Mykolayiv Regional Council
“New Mariupol”
Officials in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine have accused Russia of wanting to build a “new Mariupol” in the city and have attacked the deployment of civilian infrastructure to force a surrender by the military defending the site. “Because of the bombing of structures vital to the population, we have run out of water, and now they are trying to do it with electricity,” the city’s communications adviser, Dmytro Pletenchuk, told Ansa news agency.
Mykolaiv, the capital of the region of the same name, was heavily attacked today and the local mayor, Oleksandr Senkevich, urged citizens to hide in shelters from air raids, the Kyiv Independent newspaper reported. Ukrinform, citing local sources, said Wednesday’s attacks destroyed the city’s main hospital. The Ukrainian city is close to the Black Sea and is one of the targets of the new Russian offensive.
negotiations
Russia has given Ukraine a “draft document” for a deal, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency Tass. “[O documento] contains elaborate, absolutely clear formulations. The ball is in their hands, we’re waiting for an answer,” he said today, without going into detail about the points of the agreement.
According to Peskov, Putin believes that “the Ukrainian side is constantly deviating from previously made agreements.” “This has very bad consequences for the effectiveness of the negotiations.” The spokesman also said he believes that “the dynamics of work on the Ukrainian side leaves much to be desired” as Ukraine “does not show much inclination to intensify the negotiation process”.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he had neither seen nor heard of any document.
European Council President Charles Michel visited Borodianka near Kyiv
Image: Reproduction/Twitter/CharlesMichel
“History will not be forgotten”
European Council President Charles Michel was in Borodianka near Kyiv, the scene of “massacres” of civilians, according to Ukrainian authorities. “In Borodianka, like in Bucha and so many other cities in Ukraine, history will not forget the war crimes that were committed here,” said the EU leader. “Without justice there can be no peace,” he added.
Michel also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. “Great friend of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. According to the Ukrainian president, “sanctions against Russia, defense and financial support” for Ukraine and “responses to the questionnaire on compliance with EU criteria” were discussed.
(With Ansa, DW, AFP, RFI and Reuters)