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As Russia appears ready to take over Mariupol more than six weeks after the invasion, Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast governor said on Friday that while Ukrainian troops remain in control of the strategic port city, Mariupol has been “wiped off the face of the earth” by Russian forces.
Governor Pavlo Kirilenko told CNN that troops were still “boldly defending Mariupol” against Russian forces who bombed the city on the Sea of Azov, leaving it in ruins.
“The enemy cannot take Mariupol. The enemy may take over the land on which Mariupol stood, but the city of Mariupol is no more, “Kirilenko said. “The city of Mariupol has been wiped off the face of the earth by the Russian Federation, by those who will never be able to restore it.
Russian troops have besieged Mariupol for more than a month, with few exceptions cutting off its citizens from food, water, heat and humanitarian aid. Russian troops are cutting off sections of the city from Ukrainian control.
Analysts predict that this will probably be the first major Ukrainian city to fall next week. The occupation of Mariupol will give Russia control of the Azov coast and will serve as a land bridge between Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014.
The situation in Mariupol remains “complicated”, Alexander Motuzyanik, a spokesman for Ukraine’s defense ministry, told a briefing on Friday. Motuzyanik claims that Russia is still focused on attacking industrial zones and the port of Mariupol, and that the invading forces have intensified their shelling by using a Tu-22M3 bomber for the first time to attack the city.
“But the Russians have not yet managed to take over the city completely,” he said.
The warship “Moscow” was hit by two Ukrainian missiles before sinking, the Pentagon said
The ongoing destruction in Mariupol comes after the UN renewed calls for the safe passage of civilians from the besieged city. Humanitarian agencies have been trying to facilitate safe passage from Mariupol for weeks with mixed success. It is estimated that there are still about 100,000 people in the city, which had a population of 450,000 before the start of the war.
“Tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol – the epicenter of the conflict since the beginning of the conflict – and elsewhere around Ukraine have already endured 50 days of violence and shelling,” said Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. news release.
Griffiths added: “I urgently call on the parties to the conflict to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, homes and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
As Ukrainian troops have delayed Russia’s efforts to take over Mariupol, Russia’s defense ministry said a further offensive on Friday, saying its forces now control full control of the Ilyich metallurgical plant in Mariupol.
However, Ukrainian forces in Mariupol retain control of the Azovstal steel plant, one of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe. The Azov Battalion, one of the most qualified – and controversial – in Ukraine military units were defending large-scale steel production in the eastern part of the city against repeated attacks this week, according to the Washington-based Institute for War Research. A photo shared by a Kyiv Independent reporter appears to show smoke billowing from the heavily industrial zone.
Azovstal is run by Metinvest, which produced about 45 percent of Ukraine’s steel last year. The company, which produces millions of tons of iron, steel and finished rolled products a year, is owned by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man.
Eduard Basurin, a pro-Moscow separatist leader, said on Monday that he expected Russian forces to use “chemical troops” in Azovstal to “smoke moles out of their holes”, the institute said. The Azov Battalion, which is linked to far-right nationalism, later said Moscow had used chemical poison against troops in the region. The United States and several international organizations are investigating the indictment.
According to many reports, Mariupol has experienced some of the worst atrocities of the invasion. In March, Ukraine accused Russia of striking a maternity hospital there; videos and photos of the aftermath show children and bloodied pregnant women fleeing. A week later, a drama theater, where hundreds were hiding, was bombed – although the word “children” in Russian was painted on the floor outside.
Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko told the Associated Press that at least 21,000 people had been killed in Mariupol with bodies “laid out in the streets”.
On Friday, Kirilenko said Ukrainian and Russian forces could join a major battle in Mariupol over the next few days. He noted that while Russia had suffered losses in armor and personnel in Mariupol, the governor “did not see a full-scale offensive in all directions, as we expected.” and that the city remained under Ukrainian control.
“The Ukrainian flag is flying over the city of Mariupol,” he said.
Looking ahead, Kirilenko told CNN that rebuilding Mariupol one day was “the only thing Ukraine can do.”
“This is something that the Russians will never be able to do,” he said. “So the city of Mariupol is gone.”
Julian Duplein and Paul Sone contributed to this report.
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