The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine has been completely cleared of Ukrainian forces and “mercenaries”, with the exception of the Azovstal steel plant.
“The area of the city of Mariupol has been completely cleared of the militants of the Nazi “Azov” formation, foreign mercenaries and Ukrainian forces, and the rest of the Ukrainian group there is now completely surrounded inside the “Azovstal” steel plant,” Russian Defense Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press conference on Saturday. They have no chance to save their lives except to disarm and surrender.”
He pointed out that the number of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, while besieging it on March 11, reached 8,100 people, according to the data of the Russian Defense Ministry, noting that 1,464 Ukrainian soldiers have subsequently surrendered, and the number of those willing to lay down their arms and surrender is increasing day by day. else.
Konashenkov added that “the elements who fled from “Azovstal” to surrender confirmed that the number of the forces besieged there is currently no more than 2.5 thousand people, including “militaries, Nazis and foreign mercenaries,” adding that this means that the human losses of the Ukrainian side in Mariupol exceed four thousand people.
Russia announces the Ukrainian targets it targeted on Saturday
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense also announced the outcome of its military operations conducted today, Saturday, in Ukraine. With high-precision air-launched missiles, the Russian forces bombed 15 enemy targets, including six concentrations of combat vehicles and seven strong points of Ukrainian forces in the vicinity of the cities of Parvenkovo, Robizhnoye and Bubasnaya. Krasnoamersk, Seledovo, and the villages of Novozvanovka and Novopakhmutovka.
According to the assessments of the Russian Ministry of Defense, these strikes killed and wounded more than 320 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed 23 armored vehicles and seven vehicles of the Kyiv government forces.
Konashenkov said that “the Russian Air Force destroyed 67 concentrations of soldiers and combat vehicles of the Ukrainian army during the day, while missile forces targeted 317 sites, including 274 strongholds and gatherings of military personnel, 24 administration centers and fuel depots of the Ukrainian forces.”
Russian Defense announces the downing of a Ukrainian cargo plane loaded with Western weapons
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that its forces had shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane loaded with Western weapons near the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine.
“Russian air defenses near Odessa shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane loaded with a large shipment of weapons sent by Western countries to Ukraine,” Igor Konashenkov said.
The Ukrainian side has not yet commented on this Russian announcement.
Russia has repeatedly warned that any arms shipments arriving in Ukraine from abroad will constitute military targets for its forces.
Russia announces the outcome of the Ukrainian forces’ losses so far
Regarding the number of personnel losses incurred by the Ukrainian government forces during the ongoing Russian military operation in this country, Moscow announced that it exceeded 23,000 people.
Konashenkov lied the statements of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who said recently that the losses of his country’s forces during the Russian operation amounted to regarding 2.5-3 thousand dead and 10 thousand wounded.
“The Russian Defense Ministry has reliable data on the real losses of the Ukrainian army, national guard and foreign mercenaries, which Zelensky fears today to reveal to the Ukrainian people,” Konashenkov said.
He continued: “Today, the irreparable losses of individuals (for forces loyal to the Kyiv government) amount to 23,367 people.”
Konashenkov promised that the Russian Defense Ministry would soon publish Ukrainian documents on the losses of this country, revealing, in particular, the places where members of the Kyiv government forces were killed and their burial places.
Russia revealed for the last time its losses during its operation in Ukraine on March 25, when the Ministry of Defense announced that it had reached 1,351 dead and 3,825 wounded.
