Under relentless bombing and Russian blockade, the main port of Mariupol is enduring, but shortages of weapons and supplies could weaken the resistance that has thwarted the Kremlin’s plans to invade.
More than six weeks after the start of the Russian siege, Ukrainian troops continue to fight the extremely superior Russian forces in fierce battles between the ruins of a bustling city in the Sea of ​​Azov.
The mayor says about 120,000 people remain in the city, out of the pre-war population of Mariupol about 450,000.
The struggle of the Ukrainians has overturned Moscow’s plans, capturing significant Russian forces and delaying a planned attack on the industrial heart of eastern Ukraine, Donbass.  The Kremlin hopes an attack on the east could reverse the battlefield for Russia following a humiliating failure to quickly invade the capital, Kyiv.
Mariupol has been a key target for Russia since the invasion began on February 24.  The occupation of the city would allow Moscow to build a land corridor to the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014 and deprive Ukraine of a major port and valuable industrial assets.
Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, described the situation in Mariupol as “complicated”, saying that fighting was continuing in industrial areas and in the port and that Russia had for the first time used a Tupolev Tu-22M bomber to attack city.
The giant Azovstal steel plant and other factories have been severely damaged by Russian bombardment that has flattened much of Mariupol, indiscriminately hitting homes, hospitals and other public buildings and killing thousands.
The victims include about 300 people killed in last month’s Russian airstrikes on the Mariupol Drama Theater, which was used as a shelter and had the word “CHILDREN” printed in Russian in huge white letters on the sidewalk outside to prevent an airstrike.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko told the Associated Press that at least 21,000 people were killed in Mariupol with the bodies “on the streets”.  He said the Russians had developed mobile incineration equipment to methodically dispose of the bodies in order to hide evidence of the massacre and to prevent international organizations from documenting “the horror of which the Russian army is responsible”.
The bodies of more than 900 civilians were found in the area around Kyiv after the withdrawal of Russian forces, said Andriy Nebitov, head of the regional police force, adding that many were “simply executed”.  The death toll is twice as high as announced almost two weeks ago, a finding that sparked global outrage and accusations from Ukrainians and the West that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Moscow has deployed fighters from Chechnya, known for their savagery, to wage street battles in Mariupol.  Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly boasted on his message channel that he defeated the Ukrainians in Mariupol, but the fight continued.
Boichenko said several Ukrainian units were still fighting in Mariupol, including the 36th Marine Brigade, Interior Ministry troops, border guards and the Azov National Guard, which Russia blames for its extremism.
The Azov Regiment, an experienced volunteer force widely considered one of the most capable units in the country, defends the Azovstal plant, which covers an area of ​​almost 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles).  He took advantage of the factory’s extensive network of buildings and basements to repel ongoing Russian attacks.
The 36th Marine Brigade maintained defensive positions at the Azovmash and Zavod Ilyicha factories until supplies and ammunition ran out and made a desperate attempt to break the Russian blockade earlier this week.
In a post on the brigade’s Facebook page, one of its officers described how “for more than a month, the Marines have been fighting without replenishing ammunition, food and water supplies.”
“The wounded accounted for almost half of the brigade force, but those who still had their limbs and were able to walk returned to service,” he said.
Bojchenko said some of the Marines had managed to join Azov’s regiment, while others had been captured by the Russians.  He did not give any number.
The Russian military said Thursday that a total of 1,160 Ukrainian Marines had surrendered this week, a claim that could not be verified by an independent.
As Ukrainian troops continue to offer fierce resistance in Mariupol, fears have grown that outraged Russians could resort to chemical weapons to deal with remaining resistance pockets at the Azovstal plant and elsewhere in the city.
Eduard Basurin, a pro-Russian separatist official in eastern Ukraine, appeared to be calling for that Monday, telling Russian state television that Russian-backed forces would have to block all exits from the plant and then ” to use chemical troops to smoke them from there. “He later said no chemical weapons were used.
Azov’s regiment claimed on Monday, without providing evidence, that a drone had dropped a poisonous substance in its place, but did not cause serious injuries.  A Ukrainian defense official said the attack may have involved phosphorus munitions.
Ukrainian authorities say the Russians have blocked the humanitarian convoys from reaching Mariupol, keeping it without food, water or electricity since the siege began.  Russian troops returned buses that were sent to evacuate the residents, but about 150,000 managed to leave the city with their own vehicles.
Boychenko said at least 33,500, and possibly as many as 50,000, residents of Mariupol had been transferred to separatist-controlled “filter camps” in the east before being forcibly relocated to remote, economically disadvantaged areas in Russia.
Mariupol has seen communications cut off since the beginning of the siege, and as the Russians moved to occupy parts of the city, radio broadcasts began to brainwash the population.
“They unleashed propaganda, telling the world that Kyiv and other cities have been occupied and abandoned,” Boychenko said.
Ongoing fighting forced the Russian army to keep a significant number of troops in the city, delaying the eastern offensive.
“As long as the fighting continues, Russia can not withdraw troops from Mariupol and deploy them to other areas, including Donbass,” Oleh Zhdanov, an independent military expert, told the AP.
“Ukrainian troops in Mariupol continue to fulfill their main task of diverting Russian forces from other areas. Mariupol remains an important symbol of the Ukrainian resistance.”


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