Russia has breached Ukraine’s last stronghold in Mariupol. The city has been reduced to ashes by Russian military forces.
According to The New York Times, civilians and soldiers sought refuge in the Azovstal steel plant after the city was attacked. On Thursday, Russian soldiers laid siege to the plant, attacking Ukrainian soldiers inside. These actions can be seen as a final effort to gain control of the city and give President Vladimir Putin a critical military victory just days before the country celebrates “Victory Day,” the day the Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany.
The steel plant in Mariupol is the last Ukrainian stronghold and gives insight into Ukrainians’ persistence and resistance. Civilians and soldiers have utilized bunkers and tunnels underneath the plant.
Last week, several civilians were evacuated from the plants during a United Nations-led deal, according to Reuters. At this time, at least 200 more civilians, many of those being women and children, are inside while Ukrainian soldiers are partaking in what Ukrainian Captain Sviatoslav Palamar described as “heavy, bloody fighting.”
On Thursday, Russia’s military promised to halt military assaults inside the steel plant and allow two days for civilians to leave. The Kremlin stated that humanitarian corridors in the plant are in place.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has stated that the evacuation effort will take time because of the destruction in and around the area.
“It will take time simply to lift people out of those basements, out of those underground shelters. In the present conditions, we cannot use heavy equipment to clear the rubble away. It all has to be done by hand,” he said.
However, Captain Palamar stated that Russia has broken its pledge to allow the civilians to leave as “heavy fighting continues to take a bloody toll.” The deputy commander of the Azov Battalion pled with Zelenskyy to send help for the wounded Ukrainian soldiers “dying in agony.”
Mariupol serves as a valued asset for Russia. If Russia were to gain complete control of the port city, it would be able to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Sea of Azov and the majority of the Black Sea. This would inhibit Ukraine from gaining maritime trade and military items from those ports.
According to the Pentagon, the majority of Mariupol is now under Russian control, leading Russian military officials to move soldiers to other key battlegrounds in Eastern Ukraine. However, military analysts say Russia’s war strategy is uneven and slow-moving.
In retaliation for Russia’s continued attack on Ukraine, the EU is preparing to unleash more sanctions against Russia. They are explicitly targeting Russia’s oil industry to cut off Russia’s ability to fund the war.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen spoke to EU lawmakers in Strasbourg and was met with applause after stating. “[President Vladimir] Putin must pay a price, a high price, for his brutal aggression.”
Twenty-seven nations will vote to ban oil imports from Russia, following in the footsteps of the UK and the United States. This would serve a crippling blow to the Russian economy if agreed upon.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, praised the EU’s decision and emphasized the impact and urgency of “starving Russia’s war machine.”
Reuters quoted Kuleba as saying, “My position is simple: every euro paid to Russia for gas, oil or other goods ends up as rounds of ammunition in Ukraine to kill my compatriots.”