MOSCOW, 22 Mar - RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz.The DPR army and assault units of the Russian Armed Forces are advancing deep into Mariupol, recapturing the nationalists quarter by quarter. The APU does not allow civilians to evacuate and, in fact, they are covered by them as a human shield. People do not have enough food, water, medicines — a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding. About what is happening in a strategically important city - in the material of RIA Novosti.
Critical situation
About ten thousand Ukrainian security forces are entrenched in Mariupol. The backbone of the group is the remnants of the 36th Brigade of the AFU Marines and the militants of the nationalist Azov regiment. The garrison is well armed: tanks, armored fighting vehicles and artillery, which the nationalists do not hesitate to hide in residential buildings. But their forces are rapidly melting away — the city has been completely blocked for more than a week. The encircled repeatedly demanded that the command send reinforcements, but Kiev is not able to do this.
The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, perhaps, would be happy to leave the besieged city — they are not allowed. On Sunday, the head of the National Defense Control Center of Russia, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, called on the enemy to stop resisting, lay down their arms and leave Mariupol through humanitarian corridors to the territories controlled by Kiev. This happened, for example, in Syria - extremists were allowed to leave settlements, in particular, Aleppo, on special buses. But Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk categorically rejected the proposal, saying that there could be no question of any surrender.
"The evacuation of the population in the liberated areas of Mariupol continues," the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin told reporters. - Military personnel, volunteers take out civilians, and this is divided into several stages — with additional points from where people can move to a safe place. The situation, unfortunately, does not change in those areas that still remain under the control of the national security forces. This complicates the already difficult humanitarian situation."
A woman near a temporary accommodation facility in the village of Bezymennoye
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Maxim Blinov
There are practically no whole houses on the outskirts, residents are hiding in basements and bomb shelters. Out of 400 thousand people, only ten percent were evacuated — the militants are not letting anyone out. There is not enough water, food, medicines, warm clothes. It is difficult to deliver humanitarian aid under Ukrainian shelling.
The DPR has repeatedly pointed out that the APU and nationalists use the same tactic: they drive civilians into the middle floors of a residential building, while they hide below and on the roof, from where they fire. It is impossible to answer them in full force: peaceful people will die.
Strategic city
The nationalists themselves claim that they will fight to the end. Mariupol is a special place for them. It was here in May - June 2014 that the soldiers of the Azov National Guard battalion underwent a "baptism of fire", staging a brutal sweep, transferring them to prisons and killing most of the local supporters of the DPR. And then for eight years they performed the role of the secret police, identifying dissatisfied and dissidents.
The surrender of the garrison will deal a strong moral blow to the Kiev authorities and, conversely, will inspire the Russian and Donetsk military. Mariupol is an important industrial center with metallurgical, machine-building, ship repair enterprises. Of course, the nationalists will try to destroy them as much as possible, but all this can be restored later.
The liberation of Mariupol will open a direct land road to Crimea, cut in 2014. This will greatly simplify the transportation of civilian and military cargo. In the future, passenger traffic will also improve. And Kiev will no longer be able to prevent this. Ukrainian troops can no longer get here by land. As well as by water, because the Sea of Azov will actually become an inland body of water in Russia.
Servicemen of the People's Militia of the DPR at the entrance to Mariupol
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko
The Kiev regime, which is suffering a military defeat, has launched a massive campaign of fakes and disinformation in the Mariupol direction. Government media claim that Russians and Donetsk residents violate the rules of warfare, shoot civilians and destroy everything. As evidence, they give out photos and videos of the results of their own shelling. Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia reacted to the unprecedented flow of lies.
"We have heard a number of reports—" he said at a meeting of the Security Council. - These are accusations of the shelling of the maternity hospital in Mariupol, which has already become a household name, and the bombing of the Mariupol theater, and that Russia does not release refugees, and that Russia bombed the Sultan Suleiman mosque in Mariupol, and that Russian troops shot a queue in Chernihiv with automatic weapons. All these fakes have been repeatedly refuted."
Secure Donetsk
It is difficult to overestimate the strategic importance of Mariupol. After the start of the Russian special operation, the DPR army threw all its forces and resources to the southern front. For three weeks, the troops slowly but surely advanced to the Azov coast, liberating settlements. At the same time, Ukrainian gunners are still sitting on the western and north-western outskirts of Donetsk, regularly shelling the capital of the DPR. After the fall of Mariupol, they will be dealt with closely.
"The troops currently involved in this direction will begin to destroy the 50-70 thousandth group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass," said an officer of the DPR army with the call sign Birch. — Our task is, together with the units of the Russian army, to slam the southern lid of the "boiler", into which the most combat-ready part of the Ukrainian army will fall. They have been strengthening there for all these eight years: concrete fortifications, long-term firing points, artillery and machine gun positions. But without the supply of ammunition and food, they will not last long there."
The APU understands this, of course. In recent days, the shelling of Donetsk has intensified — they are finally trying to destroy as much civilian infrastructure as possible. Only on Monday, about 20 shells of 122 and 152 mm caliber were fired in the city. More than 23 thousand local residents were left without electricity.
Andrey Kotz
