Ukrainian soldiers have held onto their last foothold in the city of Mariupol, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring victory and saying his forces had “liberated” the city, according to the newspaper.The Independent“.
After two months of heavy fighting in the besieged city, Ukrainian forces are still shocked at the Azovstal steel plant in the southeast of the city, where as many as 1,000 civilians are also believed to be, seeking refuge in a network of underground tunnels.
In a televised meeting on Thursday, the Russian president asked his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to lay siege to the factory rather than storm it.
“They closed this industrial zone so that no fly might pass through it,” Putin said, while praising Shoigu for what he called a successful operation to “liberate” the city.
However, the Ukrainians on the ground rejected Putin’s declaration of victory, with one of the soldiers saying, “As long as we are here, Mariupol remains under Ukraine’s control.”
On the other hand, the British Ministry of Defense said in an update to the Military Intelligence report: “A full-fledged ground attack on the plant is likely to lead to significant losses in the ranks of Russian soldiers, further reducing their overall combat effectiveness.”
This view was shared by retired British Admiral Chris Barry, who said that Moscow was turning its attention to the broader battle on the Donbass, in an effort “to attempt to seize territory but also to encircle Ukrainian forces and declare a major victory”.
“The Russian agenda now is not to take over these really hard places where Ukrainians can hold out in urban centers,” he explained.
Despite Russian gains in the east of his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow’s advance would only be temporary.
In his daily video message to the nation, Zelensky said: “The invaders continue to do everything to have reason to talk regarding at least some victories.”
He continued, “None of these steps will help Russia.. It can only postpone the inevitable, in which the invaders will be forced to leave our lands, and in particular Mariupol, the city that is still resisting the occupiers.”
The Ukrainian president’s comments came as new satellite images revealed what appeared to be hundreds of mass graves near Mariupol.
Mariupol mayor Vadim Boychenko has accused Russia of “hiding its crimes” in his city by burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians in the town of Manush.
Boychenko called the “Russian atrocities” in Mariupol “the new Babi Yar”, in reference to the killing of nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews by the Nazis in 1941.
“The dead bodies were transported by trucks, in fact they were dumped in piles” at the mass graves, one of his aides said.
Maxar Technologies released images from the town of Manush, saying that its analysis of satellite imagery indicates that mass grave graves were excavated in late March and have recently been expanded.
Although Russia has not commented on the reports, it denies targeting civilians in Mariupol, although there is evidence to the contrary in places like Bucha.
