Victory is won, glory at hand, Mariupol “liberated”† In a rare public appearance, in civilian clothes, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu assured his commander-in-chief on Thursday, April 21 that the city in southern Ukraine “completely under control” after more than fifty days of siege.
“Express our gratitude to the troops and please submit your proposals for rewarding distinguished soldiers”replied Vladimir Putin, as medals and awards have rained down on the Russian army in recent weeks, also on the 64and motorized rifle brigade accused of war crimes north of Kiev, notably in Boutcha.
“In our eyes they are all heroes, in the eyes of all of Russia they are heroes”said Mr Putin again, referring to the… “hit” of the battle of Mariupol. Several times heralded as imminent, this first victory, important to the Russian army, would therefore be ratified. With one detail: the presence of a last square of Ukrainian fighters in the underground of the Azovstal metallurgical complex, which Moscow estimates at 2,000 men, members of the Azov regiment or the 36and naval brigade.
“It takes three or four days” to overcome it, Minister Shoigu warned, interrupted by the president: ” I find the proposed attack on the industrial zone inappropriate. I order that this order be revoked. We need to think about protecting the lives of our soldiers and our officers. There is no need to crawl into these catacombs, block this entire area so no fly passes by. †
In terms of content, these instructions do not change much: Moscow has already called on the Ukrainian soldiers several times to surrender and offers guarantees that they consider insufficient. In desperate appeals, these fighters are asking to be evacuated to Ukrainian territories or to a third country. On Thursday evening, they assured that the bombing had just resumed. The civilians who holed up with them, whose presence Moscow initially denied, could not be eliminated either. They would essentially be the families of the military and Mariupol officials.
Claim an important first win
In any case, this order issued directly by Vladimir Putin is a first since the beginning of his “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24. According to the custom of the Russian president announcing only positive news, he could only be magnanimous. Especially by making the fate of Azovstal an insignificant detail, Moscow can finally achieve a first important victory. A success that US President Joe Biden nevertheless judged on Thursday “disputable”. “There is no proof yet that Mariupol is completely lost”he insisted, confirming that the Kremlin’s head “will never succeed in controlling and occupying all of Ukraine. This is not going to happen”†
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