(CU)_Since Russia decided to invade neighbouring Ukraine in late-February, capturing Mariupol has been one of the major goals of the Russian forces. While hundreds of Ukrainian fighters have been defending the city for several weeks, it appears to be on the verge of falling, giving the Kremlin a badly needed victory.
Ukraine on Tuesday (17 May), moved to abandon the steel plant in Mariupol, where hundreds of fighters were being held out for months under relentless bombardment. Over 250 of these fighters left the ruins of the Azovstal plant on Monday and subsequently turned themselves over to Russian forces in a deal negotiated by the warring parties. Moscow described it as a surrender, although the word has been avoided by Ukrainians who claim the troops are under new orders, having completed their mission to tie down Russian forces.
“To save their lives. Ukraine needs them. This is the main thing,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
This operation to abandon the steel plant signaled the beginning of the end of a nearly three-month siege which turned the war-torn city into a symbol of both suffering and defiance in the global arena. During this period, Moscow has launched several lethal airstrikes, including those on a maternity hospital and a theater where civilians had taken shelter. According to Ukrainian officials, a total of over 20,000 civilians have been killed by Russian bombardment, which have the remaining inhabitants, about a quarter of the city’s population of 430,000, with little food, water, medicine and heating.
Capturing Mariupol would give the Kremlin an unbroken land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seizing from Ukraine in 2014. It would also give Moscow a much-needed victory following repeated setbacks on the battlefield as well as the diplomatic front.
Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says military and intelligence officers from Kyiv are currently working on extracting remaining troops from the sprawling steel plant. “The most influential international mediators are involved,” he said.
