Mariupol and Donbass in the sights of Russian forces
Russian forces are maintaining pressure on the port city of Mariupol, which Ukrainian soldiers are desperately trying to defend, and in eastern Ukraine where kyiv expects a major offensive.
A Russian tank near the village of Sviatohirs, in the Donbass, on April 5, 2022.
AFP
The situation in Mariupol, besieged for more than 40 days by the Russian army and largely destroyed, is dramatic. According to Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak, “tens of thousands” of people died there and “90% of the houses” were destroyed, he wrote on Twitter, adding that “Ukrainian soldiers are surrounded and blocked” .
The city’s deputy mayor Sergei Orlov told the BBC that “the fighting for Mariupol continues”. “The Russians have temporarily occupied part of the city. Ukrainian soldiers continue to defend the center and the south of the city, as well as the industrial areas,” he said.
“The defense of Mariupol continues”, added the Ukrainian army on Telegram, assuring Monday that “the connection with the units of the defense forces which heroically hold the city is stable and maintained”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also called on Monday evening in a video address for more weapons from his allies, in particular to strengthen the defense of the city. “We are not getting as much as we need to end this war any faster. To completely destroy the enemy in our territory… in particular, to unblock” the siege of Mariupol, he said.
The Russians have been besieging this strategic city for weeks, the capture of which would allow them to consolidate their territorial gains on the coastal strip along the Sea of Azov by connecting the Donbass regions to the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
“Toxic substance”
The United Kingdom has also announced that it is trying to verify information on the possible use of chemical weapons by Russian forces in Mariupol, after the Ukrainian regiment Azov claimed that a Russian drone had dropped a ” poisonous substance” on soldiers and civilians.
“Reports indicate that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the population of Mariupol. We are urgently working with our partners to verify the information,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Twitter on Monday evening.
Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, stressed on Telegram that “information about the chemical attack is not currently confirmed”. So did Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, who said Monday evening that Washington was aware of reports of a chemical attack in that city, but could not confirm them.
«Moment crucial»
While Moscow has made the total conquest of the Donbass its priority objective, kyiv has announced that it expects, in the short term, a major offensive in this region, bordering Russia, part of which has been controlled since 2014 by separatists. prorussians.
“It is likely that in the future the enemy will try to take control of Mariupol, seize Popasna (located between Donetsk and Lugansk, editor’s note) and launch an offensive in the direction of Kurakhove (at the west of Donetsk) in order to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region,” the Ukrainian army headquarters said on Facebook on Tuesday morning.
“According to our information, the enemy has almost completed its preparation for an assault on the east. The attack will take place very soon,” Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandre Motouzianik warned earlier.
In Washington, a senior Pentagon official confirmed that Russian forces are strengthening around the Donbass, and in particular near the strategic city of Izium. Analysts believe that Vladimir Putin, mired in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance, wants to secure a victory in this region before the May 9 military parade in Red Square marking the Soviet victory over the Nazis.
“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. “For Ukraine, this is an opportunity to deprive Russia of the possibility of continuing its aggression by defeating its army”. “For the West, this is also a fundamental battle, because our victory depends on the speed of decision-making on armaments,” he added.
“The battle for Donbass will last several days, and during these days our cities could be completely destroyed”, predicted for his part on Facebook Serguiï Gaïdaï, the Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region, in Donbass, calling again on the civilians to leave the area. According to him, “the Mariupol scenario can be repeated in the Lugansk region”.
Also in the east of the country, eight people were killed in a bombing in Kharkiv, the country’s second city, said the governor of the region Oleg Synegoubov.
Penalties under consideration
UN officials on Monday called for investigations into violence against women in Ukraine and the protection of millions of children displaced by the conflict, at a Security Council meeting initiated by the United States and the Albania. “We hear more and more about rape and sexual violence,” said Sima Bahous, director of the UN agency UN Women. “These allegations must be independently investigated to ensure justice and accountability,” she said.
More than 4.5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country since the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin on February 24, according to the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
On the diplomatic level, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the first European official to visit Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, met Mr Putin on Monday and said he was “pessimistic” about his “logic of war” . “We shouldn’t have any illusions. President Putin has massively entered into a logic of war and he is acting accordingly” in the hope of recording “a rapid military success”, he added.
In Luxembourg, European Union foreign ministers on Monday began considering a sixth sanctions package against Moscow, which will not, however, affect oil and gas purchases.
Volodymyr Zelensky continues to ask all his European interlocutors “to adopt powerful sanctions”. He is calling for a halt to oil and gas purchases and the supply of heavy weapons to resist the announced offensive in the Donbass region (east).
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