International press review
Headline: Russian noose tightens around Mariupol, which is on the verge of falling
Audio 04:24
The Mariupol theater destroyed in bombardments, April 10, 2022. REUTERS - STAFF
By: Véronique Rigolet Follow
4 mins
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"
After more than 40 days of heroic resistance in Mariupol
", the completely surrounded Ukrainian forces "
are preparing to fight their last battle
", headlines the
Times.
For the soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade entrenched in a steel factory near the port, "
this is the ultimate fight
", also tells us the
Guardian.
Even if the Ukrainians deny the assertions of the pro-Russian forces assuring that the city has already fallen, “
the battle for Mariupol seems about to end
”, underlines
Die Welt
.
The port city in the south-east of the country is no longer "
just a pile of ruins
", describes the German daily: "
more than 90% destroyed after a month and a half of an extremely brutal siege
".
According to the mayor of the city, "
more than 10,000 civilians have already been killed, perhaps even 20,000 - he says given the number of bodies in the streets
".
"
A martyred city, without water, without food for weeks, the humanitarian situation there is catastrophic
," said La
Repubblica.
And the worst may still be to come, explains the
Guardian, which now reports fears
of "
possible chemical attacks
", to hasten the fall of the city.
Phosphorus bombs against Mariupol?
Warning issued by the "
British Ministry of Defence
", tells us the
Times,
which assures "
that such white phosphorus bombs have already been used in the Donetsk region of Donbass
".
"
Fear grows that Russia will switch to the use of chemical weapons
", also headlines the
New York Times
, which points out that the Pentagon is also investigating the possibility of such attacks, even as a pro-Russian commander has claimed on television "
that it was now necessary to turn to chemical weapons to get moles out of their holes
".
Reference, of course, to the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol.
"
Putin seems ready to considerably intensify the brutality of the war
", still believes the American daily while "
the capture of Mariupol would allow him to complete a land bridge between Russia and Crimea
", "
a strategic passage, vital for the Russian war effort
", emphasizes the
New York Times
before "
the great offensive announced on the Donbass
".
Great "purge" in the Russian intelligence services
"
A sign of Putin's fury at the failures of the Russian invasion
", emphasizes the
Times,
"
a massive Stalinist purge
" is underway at the FSB where "
more than 150 agents have reportedly been removed from their posts, while the head of the department responsible for Ukraine would have been sent to prison
”.
Information revealed by the very serious investigation site
Bellingcat
, reports the
Times
which specifies "
that all the spies thus ousted were employees of the 5th office, a division created in the 2000s when Putin was the boss of the FSB
".
The 5th office was notably in charge
of "destabilizing Ukraine, supporting pro-Russian political figures and trying to foment unrest among far-right groups
", reports the
Times
again .
Russian “anti-war” journalist becomes
Die Welt correspondent
Marina Ovsiannikova, who courageously “held up a
'no to war'
sign
live during the television news
”, just a month ago, has just been recruited by
Die Welt
as a
freelance
correspondent in Russia.
Today she signs her first paper in the German daily, and tells what has become of her life in Moscow after her coup on March 14th.
A life "
after
" where she says she is "
the victim of incredible harassment on social networks, both from the Ukrainians who call her an FSB agent and from the Russians who accuse her of being an agent of the British services
”, On a daily basis, it is bullying, “
blocked swimming pool card, flat tires
”.
Marina Ovsiannikova nevertheless admits to being delighted "
that many people write to her to support her fight against the Kremlin's propaganda
".
Even “
if the Russians are afraid
” she admits, “
in a dictatorship, in the middle of a war, when every word,
she says,
is denounced as treason for which you risk 15 years in prison
”.
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