the army Russian continues its offensive about Ukraine† The stated goal, now: “total control of Donbass and southern Ukraine”. Faced with Ukrainian resistance, Moscow decided to concentrate his troops in the east and south of the country and withdrew from the area around Kiev where hundreds of civilian bodies were discovered. The heaviest fighting now takes place north of the Crimea, which Moscow forcibly annexed in 2014, and near pro-Russian independence areas. Weekly, 20 minutes provides an update on the war in Ukraine in four infographics.
The situation in the country on April 22
This map shows the advance of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, on the 58th day of the invasion. This Friday, Moscow announced that it is seeking total control over southern Ukraine. Mariupolwhich has been under constant fire since the beginning of the Russian offensive, is still the subject of bitter fighting.
In the Donbass“Heavy shelling and fighting continues as Russia attempts to advance towards places like Lyman, Bugayvka, Barvinkove and Popasna as part of its plan for the region,” the Defense Ministry said on Friday. In the Kiev region, Russian troops withdrew and Kiev discovered many corpses of civilianswhose enemy soldiers are accused of having shot.
Mariupol on the edge of the abyss
Mariupol is one of the martyr cities of the war in Ukraine. Constantly shelled by the Russian army, the port city was destroyed at “more than 90%”, his mayor, Vadim Boïtchenko, was outraged at the beginning of April. Since Moscow revised its military ambitions and focuses on the east of the country, Mariupol’s resistance has withered: the Russian army surrounds the city and exerts increasing pressure.
Thursday claimed to have Moscow the city “liberated” but Kiev ensures that the Ukrainian troops are still in the immense Azovsta metallurgical complex. These soldiers are entrenched with several hundred civilians, Kiev said. Vladimir Poutine refused to launch an attack, deemed too expensive in life. The Russian head of state preferred to besiege the steel mill “so that no fly would pass”.
The total fall of Mariupol would be a major victory for Moscow, which aims to create a land bridge linking Crimea, annexed in 2014, to pro-Russian separatist areas in the Donbass region.
Mass Graves in Manhusj
After the mass grave is discovered in Boucha and in the Kiev region, new war crimes charges against Russia are filed, this time near Mariupol. Recent satellite images released by US company Maxar Technologies show “the existence of a mass grave in northwestern Manhush,” a village 20 kilometers west of the port city.
In this village alone, “the residents are said to have buried between 3,000 and 9,000 inhabitants,” Mariupol’s town hall said on Telegram. “They dig 30-meter holes and bring the bodies of our residents of Mariupol in trucks,” the city’s mayor, Vadym Boychenko, said during a press conference on YouTube. At this time, these claims could not be independently verified.
Russia pushes Sweden and Finland towards NATO
Until now, the Sweden and the Finland had always refused to consider a candidacy for NATO. But these countries’ policies of non-alignment are being shaken by Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine, which is not part of the military alliance.
The Finnish government last week presented to parliamentarians a “white paper” emphasizing that only NATO membership makes it possible to take advantage of the “umbrella” of its Article 5 of collective defense. Parliament has been considering this issue since Tuesday.
For their part, 51% of Swedes are in favor of NATO membership, according to a survey by the Novus Institute, compared to 45% a week ago. A figure that rises to 64% if their Finnish neighbors make the same choice. Ukraine is a candidate, but its membership cannot be considered while the country is at war.
