Moscow announced this week a “new phase” in this war which, since its start on February 24, has caused the exile outside Ukraine of more than five million peoplethe largest and fastest exodus from Europe since World War II, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
From almost the beginning, Mariupol, located to the south on the Sea of Azov, has been a key player in Russia’s plans to establish a corridor between the pro-Russian territories of Donbas (east) to the Crimean peninsula.
After a long siege, Russia demanded that Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in the city’s huge Azovstal industrial complex surrender and told them they have until 2:00 p.m. Moscow time (8:00 a.m. Argentine time) this Wednesday to depose weapons and save their lives.
“We live perhaps our last days, if not hours. The enemy outnumbers us ten to one“, said the Ukrainian commander Serguiy Volyna, of the 36th Marine Brigade, sheltered in the underground corridors of that large metallurgical factory.
Russia did not comment on developments in the city, but pro-Russian separatists in the region of Donetskwhere Mariupol is located, said that five Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered and 140 civilians had been evacuated.
In addition to the soldiers and militiamen who resist, there are at least 1,000 civilians sheltered in the basement of the industrial complex, indicated the Mariúpol municipal authority, which he fears more than 20,000 dead civilians in the city.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, announced a pact with Russia to evacuate “women, children and the elderly” from there through a corridor to Zaporizhia, a journey of 200 km in a north-westerly direction.
The capture of Mariupol would be a key advance for Russia after it had withdrawn its troops from northern Ukraine and the outskirts of kyiv to focus on Donbas.an eastern mining basin disputed since 2014 by the kyiv government and pro-Russian separatists.
At this critical moment, the president of the European CouncilCharles Michel, traveled to kyiv in a new show of support from Western powers, which promised more sanctions on Russia for its escalation in the east and more weapons for Ukraine.
hours before, the Pentagon The US claimed that Ukraine recently received fighter jets and components to improve its air force, although sources from the Ukrainian command disputed that they had only obtained parts to repair their damaged aircraft.
Beyond Mariupol, fighting is raging across eastern Ukraine.
After a series of attacks claimed by Russia on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday “attempted assaults” in the towns of Sulygivka and Dibrivne, in the region of Kharkiv (northeast), as well as in the important cities of Rubizhne and Severodonetsk, in the region of Lugansk (East).
The governor of the latter region, Sergei Gaidai, again urged civilians to flee. “The situation is getting complicated hour by hour,” he warned.
The bombardments also intensified in the south, another front line, AFP found. The towns of Mala, Tokmak and Orejov, 70 km southeast of Zaporizhia, suffered this upsurge in the offensive.
This escalation pushed the European countries that are not part of the NATO to consider joining, despite dissuasive and threatening messages from Russia. the parliament of Finland begins to debate its accession on Wednesday, a step that also contemplates the historically reticent Sweden.
The conflict is having wide-ranging repercussions on the world economy, with fuel and food prices inflating among others.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its growth projections for this year from 4.4% to 3.6%. For Russia, hit by unprecedented sanctions, the forecast is an economic contraction of 8.5%, the IMF said.
Source: Ambito
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