In the port city of Mariupol, defensive battles are fierce, so Russia has had to tie up a lot of troops there, says Major Antti Paronen, an assistant professor at the Department of Martial Arts.
23.3. 09:41 • Updated Mar 23 09:57
In Ukraine, fighting is currently taking place, especially in the capital Kiev and on the country’s eastern border in Mariupol. Major Assistant Professor at the Department of Military Arts of the National Defense College, guest at Radio 1’s Ykkösaam Antti Paronen notes that it is estimated that Ukraine will lose control of Mariupol in days or weeks.
– In Mariupol, however, there is a fierce defensive battle and the significance of the battle is understood. Russia will have to tie up huge forces there and there will be losses in the urban battle.
Reuters reports that Russian forces would have taken over half of the city, according to Russian media. Mariupol city authorities, meanwhile, have said the city is in ruins as street fighting and bombings continue. The city is still trapped by about 100,000 people without food, water or electricity.
In Kiev, on the other hand, the defense seems to hold up better than during the first days of the war, and Ukraine has succeeded in counter-attacks around the capital. According to unconfirmed information, the Ukrainians would even be able to motivate the Russian offensive.
Ukraine should take into account Belarus
There are many different speculations about Belarus’s involvement in the war. According to Paronen, as long as it moves its troops close to Ukraine’s western border, for example, Ukrainians must be prepared to join Belarus.
– If a new front were to open in western Ukraine, for example, Western Aid transports would become a threat. But the big question is what the forces of Belarus are enough for, as the country’s armed forces are not very large in terms of their permanent population. Thus, the attack would not necessarily reach Ukraine very far, Paronen says.
Paronen, who was a guest at 1 o’clock in the morning, also stated that the use of chemical weapons could not be ruled out. Their use is usually associated with a situation where Russian forces would be under threat of siege or defeat, and then the country could resort to extreme means.
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