The ruined port city has become a symbol of Ukraine’s martyrdom
Mariupol is the most heavily bombed and almost completely wiped out Ukrainian city a month after the start of the war in Ukraine. Photographs of wounded and killed children, littered with corpses in civilian streets, and mass graves for victims have become a symbol of Ukraine’s martyrdom in the face of Kremlin aggression.
The tenacity with which Moscow wants to take over the port city of the Sea of Azov speaks of how strategically important it is for Russia, according to the BBC. Here are the 4 main reasons:
Insurance
on land
corridor between
Crimea and Donbas
Geographically, the city occupies only a small part of the map, but now stands firmly in front of Russian forces arriving from the Crimean peninsula. They are attacking in the northeast to unite with their units and separatists in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. According to military experts, the capture of Mariupol is key to the goals of the Russian invasion. When Russia successfully completes this battle, it will have secured a land bridge with Crimea and will see it as its greatest strategic success, they explained. If the port is taken, Moscow will gain full control of more than 80% of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, thus detaching the country from maritime trade and isolating it from the world.
However, fierce resistance from Ukrainians has forced Russia to concentrate large forces in the region. The inability to quickly capture the city prompted the Russian command to resort to tactics of medieval siege in the version of the XXI century, commented the British media. It flooded Mariupol with artillery and missiles, destroying 90% of the city. Access to electricity, heat, fresh water, food and medicine was cut off, deliberately causing a humanitarian catastrophe, with Moscow blaming Ukraine for refusing to surrender at 5am on Monday. Kyiv, meanwhile, said Russia was trying to take Mariupol by starving it.
To achieve its goal, the Russian army is stepping up the bombing, not distinguishing between armed defenders and the remaining 100,000 defenseless civilians still in the city. If it takes over, Russia will be able to redirect about 6,000 troops to other strategic directions. Here are the possible directions: to the northeast to strengthen the regular military units that are fighting alongside the separatists in Donbass; to the west of Odessa – the last large Ukrainian settlement on the Black Sea; to the northwest to the Dnieper.
Choking
on the Ukrainian
Mariupol has long been a strategically important trading port on the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait. From there passes a huge part of Ukrainian exports of iron and steel. The main quantities of corn and coal are exported to the Middle East and other markets. For 8 years since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, the city has been sandwiched between Russian forces on the peninsula and pro-Kremlin separatists in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The loss of Mariupol will be a huge blow to what is left of the Ukrainian economy.
Opportunity
for propaganda
Mariupol is home to Ukrainian militias known as the Azov Brigade. It includes far-right nationalists. It was with them that Putin justified the beginning of the operation “for the denazification of Ukraine.”
Although the fighters in this unit represent a small part of the Ukrainians fighting in the area, this will be a very convenient propaganda opportunity for Moscow to try to convince its own people that its troops have been sent to purge Ukraine of neo-Nazis. . If enough members of the Azov Brigade are captured alive, the Kremlin is expected to hold a parade of prisoners to discredit Ukraine and its government.
Great
morally
reflection
The capture of Mariupol will have a great psychological impact on both warring parties. The Kremlin will be able to show through the media under its control that it is advancing and succeeding on the battlefield.
For President Vladimir Putin, for whom this war is obviously very personal, it will also have historical significance. He views the Ukrainian Black Sea coast as Novorussia, a Russian land from the 18th century empire. The Kremlin master wants to breathe life into this concept, to “free the Russians from the tyranny of the pro-Western government in Kyiv”, and at the moment, Mariupol seems to be the main obstacle to achieving this dream.
For Ukrainians, the loss of the city will be a painful blow – not only militarily and economically – but also for the psyche of the people who are fighting to defend their country. Mariupol will be the first large settlement after Kherson to fall into the hands of the Russians, and its strategic importance is incomparable.
The city is still stoically defending itself, but the price it pays is cruel. It lies in ruins like Grozny and Aleppo, also turned into a dead zone by Russian missiles. The message to the other resisting cities is clear – if you persist like Mariupol, the same fate awaits you.
Diplomat: There is a bare field left of the city – and some, and others shoot like crazy
RADKO Peacocks
The whole of Mariupol has collapsed. Both shoot like crazy. This was told to “24 Chasa” by a diplomatic source who returned to his homeland two days before the start of the war.
“The fighting inside the city is life and death. The Ukrainians are inside the cannon blocks, the Russians are bombing them outside. Tragedy. There is no solid building left. While I was in Mariupol, the city was beautiful. A few days ago I was shown a 20 second video, I couldn’t recognize the center. It’s like looking at a bare field. “Everything is ruined,” the diplomat said with a heavy heart. According to him, the end of the war is not in sight at all. “I will shoot for a long time. “Since March 2, I have no contact with my friends in Mariupol,” he said.
According to him, Odessa is the next target. “This is how they will tear Ukraine away from the Black Sea completely. And it will be linked to the Russian minority in Transnistria. That is how Putin will make a Russian rainbow, “our source explained.
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