The end of the resistance in Mariupol, in south-eastern Ukraine, seems imminent, with the considerably weakened Ukrainian forces announcing that they are preparing for the fall of this strategic port.
kyiv has also announced that it expects a major offensive in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine shortly.
20 Minutes
takes stock of these battles in the East which should be "a crucial moment" in the war between Ukraine and Russia for more than forty days, as declared by the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, Andriï Yermak .
The noose is still tightening a little more this Tuesday on the last Ukrainian troops defending Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army for more than seven weeks.
In this port city, largely destroyed, the humanitarian situation is dramatic while still further east, civilians continue to flee the regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, from where six evacuation trains are due to leave today.
The Russian forces do not intend to let go of Mariupol and "the final battle" is close according to the Ukrainian fighters, while that "for the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk will be a crucial moment of the war", declared on Telegram the head of office of Ukrainian President Andriï Yermak.
20 Minutes
takes stock of these two combat zones and what promises to be a new turn in the war that has pitted Ukraine against Russia for more than forty days.
Where are the Russian forces in Mariupol?
Kremlin forces are maintaining their pressure on Mariupol on Tuesday.
On Twitter, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak said that "Ukrainian soldiers are surrounded and blocked" and that "tens of thousands" of people have died and that "90% of the houses" have been destroyed.
For his part, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, affirmed live on the Russian channel Pervy Kanal that his forces had entirely conquered the port area of Mariupol: “As for the port of Mariupol, it is already under our control .
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The Russian army allegedly thwarted a breakthrough attempt by around a hundred Ukrainian soldiers with armored vehicles that were in a factory in northern Mariupol, and who were trying to flee.
Their exit was repelled with "air strikes and artillery fire", according to Moscow, which says it notably destroyed three tanks and killed around fifty "enemies", and that 42 surrendered.
Here's “Donetsk People's Republic” defense spokesman Eduard Basurin advocating the use of “chemical troops” against Mariupol's last-remaining defenders.
“They'll find a way to smoke these moles out of their holes,” he says.
pic.twitter.com/NRjRx5JTVO
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) April 11, 2022
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Finally, Edouard Basurine, spokesman for the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republic of Donetsk (DNR), explained for his part that he did not rule out using chemical weapons to attack the Ukrainian positions in the Azovstal factory. , a new battle challenge.
Indeed, the seizure of the Mariupol stumbles in particular on that of the industrial complex grouping together several factories, including the mythical Azovstal, which overlooks the port.
Can the Ukrainian forces still resist?
The forces of kyiv "continue to defend Mariupol", assured the Ukrainian army on Telegram, ensuring that it is always in contact with the units which "heroically hold the city".
“The Russians have temporarily occupied part of Mariupol.
Ukrainian soldiers continue to defend the center and the south, as well as the industrial zones,” deputy mayor Serguiy Orlov said on Tuesday.
On Facebook, the 36th brigade of the national navy said it was preparing to fight “a final battle” against the Russian forces: “Our ammunition is running out.
It will be death for some of us and captivity for others.
We are slowly disappearing […] We don't know what will happen, but we really ask that you remember [de nous] with a kind word, ”she wrote in a message relayed by l Reuters and Radio Canada.
"During more than forty days of intense fighting, the enemy has gradually pushed us back [...], surrounded us and is now trying to destroy us", further specify the soldiers, ensuring that about half of their troops have already been injured. in the fights.
Finally, on YouTube Oleksiï Arestovitch, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky, declared: “I am the first to find the strength to say” that the Ukrainian forces cannot liberate Mariupol, “it is now impossible militarily”.
Why does Moscow absolutely want to bring down Mariupol?
Very early on, well before the start of the Russian offensive, Mariupol imposed itself as a real strategic stake for the pro-Russian separatists.
The reason ?
Located about 55 kilometers from the Russian border and 85 kilometers from the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, it is the largest city still in the hands of kyiv in the Donbass basin, which includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Its conquest would therefore allow the Russians to consolidate their territorial gains on the coastal strip along the Sea of Azov by establishing a land corridor between the regions of Donbass, whose sovereignty it recognizes, and the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
And where is the assault in the East?
Moscow has made the total conquest of the Donbass its priority objective and kyiv has announced, through the voice of the spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Oleksandre Motouzianik, to expect an attack “very soon”.
In Washington, a senior Pentagon official confirmed that Russian forces were strengthening in particular near the town of Izium.
To a tank column would be added a helicopter maintenance support battalion and infantry logistics units.
The Ukrainian army general staff has indicated that it expects the Russians to launch offensives on towns such as Popasna and Kurakhove in the near future to "take control of the entire Donetsk region".
"The battle for the Donetsk and Lugansk regions is a crucial moment in the war," Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.
"It will last several days, and during these days our cities could be completely destroyed," added Sergei Gaïdaï, the Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
On a visit to Vostochny on Tuesday (the Kremlin chief's first trip outside of Moscow since February 24), Vladimir Putin hailed the "courageous, professional, effective" struggle of the Russian officers who "are taking part in the special military operation in Donbass ".
This offensive is, according to him, necessary and inevitable to "ensure the security of Russia" against a Ukraine which "has begun to be transformed into an anti-Russian stronghold, to cultivate nationalism, neo-Nazism".
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War in Ukraine: Update on the situation in Mariupol, besieged by the Russian army for two weeks
World
War in Ukraine
Kyiv (Kyiv)
Mariupol
Donbass