Russia’s claim that it has taken control of Mariupol – the scene of the fiercest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe – could not be independently verified. It would be the first major city to fall to Russian forces since the February 24 invasion. “The entire urban area of Mariupol has been completely cleared; the remains of the Ukrainian group are currently completely blocked on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant,” said Igor Konashenkov, a senior spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry. “Their only chance to save their lives is to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender.” Konashenkov said 1,464 Ukrainian soldiers had already surrendered “during the liberation of Mariupol.” The Russian Defense Ministry said that if the Ukrainian forces that are still fighting in Mariupol lay down their weapons by 06:00 Moscow time (03:00 GMT) their lives will be saved, the Tass news agency reported. In the key port city, journalists in Russian-controlled areas arrived at the steel plant, one of two metal factories where defenders withstand underground tunnels and warehouses. The factory was turned into a ruin of twisted steel and sandblasted concrete, with no sign of defenders. Many civilian corpses were scattered in nearby streets, including a woman in a pink parka and white shoes. Someone had spray-painted “exorcised” on a fence from an extinguished gas station. At a rare sign of life, a red car slowly drove down an otherwise empty road, with the word “kids” engraved on a card taped to the windshield.
“I absolutely hate them”
There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to the Russian allegations. “The situation is very difficult” in Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Ukrayinska Pravda news portal. “Our soldiers are out, the wounded are out. “There is a humanitarian crisis. Nevertheless, the children are defending themselves.” Speaking on the Internet, he accused Russia of trying to get rid of the city’s residents, but did not respond to Moscow’s claim to occupy Mariupol. Zelensky threatened to withdraw from ongoing peace talks with Russia if Ukrainian fighters trapped in the port city were killed. “What they are doing at the moment να could stop any form of trading,” Zelensky said in an interview with a Ukrainian news website. “There are troops there who absolutely hate them and I do not think they will let them live,” said the Ukrainian leader, referring to the fact that many of the fighters in Mariupol are part of the far-right Azov Battalion.
“23,367 irreplaceable losses”
Zelensky said about 2,500-3,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed so far and up to 20,000 Russian soldiers. But Konashenkov gave a significantly higher death toll on Saturday. “On April 16, the Ukrainian army lost more than 4,000 people in Mariupol alone. expressed to the people of Ukraine. “To date, the irreplaceable losses amount to 23,367 people.” One and a half months after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia is trying to seize territory in the south and east after withdrawing from the north after an offensive in Kyiv that was repulsed on the outskirts of the capital. The Russian troops that withdrew from the north left behind cities full of civilian corpses. Putin seems determined to seize more Donbass territory to claim victory in a war that has left Russia subject to increasingly punitive Western sanctions and few allies. Zelensky told Ukrainian journalists that the world must prepare “in many ways” for the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. He did not provide evidence for the allegation. Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said Russia would use nuclear weapons only in the event of a “threat to the country’s existence” – and not as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
