Mariupol, Europe Brief News – After over two months of siege, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the Mauripol Victory. However, hundreds of defenders were still holed up inside a steel mill, which the Ukrainian military declared a “liberated” zone on Thursday.
Ukrainian officials slammed Putin’s desire to postpone a decisive confrontation with their soldiers in the city to admit that he lacked the resources to beat them.
President Joe Biden ordered $800 million in extra military supplies for Ukraine, including heavy artillery, citing a “critical window” in the fight.
Mariupol Victory – a Humanatarian Tragedy
The invasion of Ukraine was a “catastrophic blunder,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “That is completely out of the question,” he told Russian media source Mediazona.
Mariupol, formerly home to 400,000 people, has endured not just the war’s most violent combat but also its greatest humanitarian tragedy.
The Russian bombing cut off hundreds of thousands of residents for over two months.
Control of the city on the Azov Sea connects separatist territory. Russia backs Donbass with Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian forces stayed inside the 11-square-kilometer Azovstal steel complex, including massive structures, underground shelters, and tunnels. Putin had instructed the defenders to submit or perish.
Putin’s victory
But in a televised meeting on Thursday, Putin told Sergei Shoigu: “You finished the battle to free Mariupol. Please offer my compliments to the soldiers.”
He claimed to storming the industrial zone was unwarranted and halted the activity.
“No need to enter these dungeons or crawl around these industrial buildings… Close off this industrial region to everyone except flies.”
After days of ultimatums to its defenders, Putin declared his first major victory since his soldiers were forced out of northern Ukraine last month. But it is hardly the clear win Moscow seeks after months of fighting in a shattered city.
“They can’t physically grab Azovstal,” presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said at a press conference. “Our defenders retain it.”
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Rescue Operations Post Mauripool Attack
According to Ukraine, thousands of people were killed in Mariupol, some buried in mass graves. The UN and Red Cross estimate the civilian death toll at tens of thousands. Shoigu informed Putin that Russia had killed almost 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers and captured 1,478. Those statistics were unverified.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, said 1,000 civilians and 500 injured troops needed to be evacuated from the facility urgently, blaming Russian forces for the lack of a safe passage.
Moscow claims it has rescued 140,000 citizens from the port city. Kyiv claims some got forcibly removed, a war crime.
On Thursday, Prez Biden committed to deploying dozens of howitzers, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and tactical drones to Ukraine.
“They’re going to lay the groundwork for the next phase of this battle,” Biden stated.
USA To Supply Weapons To Kyiv
The US and its allies are “working as quickly as possible” to give Ukraine equipment and weaponry post Mauripol Victory. Russo-Ukrainian troops reassembled this week after failing to conquer Kyiv last month and being forced to retire from northern Ukraine.
According to British military intelligence, the allied triumph in Europe in WWII is celebrated with a stunning parade on Red Square on May 9. Ukraine has been demilitarized and denazified by Russia’s intrusion. No, says Kyiv and its Western supporters.
