Pro-Russian troops in Donbas said they are still fighting thousands of Ukrainians in Mariupol.
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine admitted on Thursday, April 7, that they are still fighting thousands of Ukrainians in the besieged city of Mariupol and are taking control.”would take time†
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According to Edouard Basurin, representative of the separatist forces of Donetsk, the fighting is concentrated on the site of a large steel industrial zone of the Azovstal group and in the port. †How to represent the industrial zone? It is a city within the city, and there are several underground levels dating back to the Soviet period, it is not possible to bomb from above, you have to clean underground. It will take time‘ he explained to the antenna of the Russian channel Pervyi Kanal.
Ukrainian troops ‘know the terrain better than we do’
Ukrainian troopshave prepared, they know the terrain better than we do, it makes no sense to name a date or a calendarto complete the capture of Mariupol, he added. According to him, the Russian and separatist forces must find and block all access to the underground arteries and wait for the surrender of the Ukrainian troops.
Edouard Bassourine had estimated the fighting in this area earlier in the day’3000 or 3500Ukrainian troops, but also an unspecified number of residents of Mariupol taking up arms. †So the number (total) could be much larger‘ he had stated. In addition, Édouard Bassourine indicated that there were still pockets of resistance in the city center.
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The Russian army and its separatist allies have been besieging Mariupol for weeks, facing fierce Ukrainian resistance. The humanitarian situation there is catastrophic, according to both sides, and the city is largely in ruins. The capture of this port is strategic for Russia as it could make the connection between Crimea, annexed in 2014 and the region under separatist control and Russian territory. In particular, Moscow has deployed the formidable units of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov there, without taking this port city so far.
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