Should Mariupol fall, it would be the largest city captured by Russia since it invaded Ukraine eight weeks ago. Chechen leader Ramazan Kadyrov, who is said to have personally spearheaded the devastating attack in Mariupol, said the city would fall today.
Vladimir Putin’s closest ally said that the last major stronghold of Ukrainian resistance, Mariupol, which is under siege by Russian forces, will be captured by Russian forces today.
Mariupol, if it falls, will be the largest city captured by Russia since the beginning of the Ukrainian occupation.
The last defense in the city is concentrated at the steelworks in Azovstal, with about a thousand civilians.
“Before or after lunch, Azovstal will be completely under the control of the forces of the Russian Federation,” said Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Republic of Chechnya, whose troops are fighting in Ukraine.
Serhiy Volny, the Ukrainian naval commander, said that the fighters in the steel mills would not last much longer.
Ukrainian leader Zelensky said that about a thousand civilians live here.
More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion, which began eight weeks ago on February 24.
UKRAINE: 208 CHILDREN DIED IN RUSSIA’S ATTACKS
In the statement made by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, it was stated that 1141 educational institutions were damaged in the bombardments of the Russian army, and 99 of them were completely destroyed.
In the statement, it was recorded that 208 children lost their lives and 376 children were injured, according to the first determinations, since February 24, when Russia started its attacks.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereşçuk noted that 4 evacuation buses managed to leave Mariupol within the scope of the humanitarian corridor opened yesterday for the evacuation of civilians, and that the civilians who spent the night in Berdyansk will reach Zaporizhia today.
Emphasizing that the work on the evacuation of women, children and the elderly will continue today, Vereșçuk noted that the security situation in the war zones is complex and could change at any time. (AA)