In what would be its biggest victory yet in the war with Ukraine, Russia claimed to have captured the strategic port city of Mariupol. The announcement came Friday after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the city to a smoking ruin. More than 20,000 civilians are feared dead. Russia reported the “complete liberation” of the Azovstal steel plant, which was the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine. In other developments, the West moved to pour billions more in aid into Ukraine, and fighting raged in the Donbas, the industrial heartland in eastern Ukraine that Russia is bent on capturing.
The steelworks, which sprawled across 11 square kilometers , had been the site of fierce fighting for weeks. The dwindling group of outgunned fighters had held out, drawing Russian airstrikes, artillery and tank fire, before their government ordered them to abandon the plant's defense and save themselves.
Russian forces shelled a vital highway and kept up attacks on a key city in the Luhansk region, hitting a school among other sites, Ukrainian authorities said. Luhansk is part of the Donbas. Satellite images in April showed what appeared to be mass graves just outside Mariupol, where local officials accused Russia of concealing the slaughter by burying up to 9,000 civilians.
Natalia Zaritskaya, wife of another fighter at Azovstal, said that based on the messages she had seen over the past two days, “Now they are on the path from hell to hell. Every inch of this path is deadly.”
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia fires top commanders over Ukraine war failuresRussia has fired senior military commanders in recent weeks 'who are considered to have performed poorly during the opening stages of its invasion of Ukraine,' the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update.
Les mer »
More Ukraine fighters surrender in Mariupol, Russia saysMoscow said nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Russian-held Mariupol as it shored up a key gain in the south, while the United States became the latest Western country to reopen its embassy in Kyiv.
Les mer »
Zelenskyy says Donbas region completely destroyed; Russia likely to swiftly redeploy Mariupol forcesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces have completely destroyed the eastern Donbas region.
Les mer »
Russia claims to have taken full control of MariupolPOKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed to have captured Mariupol on Friday in what would be its biggest victory yet in its war with Ukraine, after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin, with over 20,000 civilians feared dead.
Les mer »
Russia claims full control of MariupolRussia’s defense chief says the country’s forces have taken full control of the massive steel plant in Mariupol that was the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the city.
Les mer »
Russia aims to capitalize on controlling the Ukrainian port city of MariupolMore than a thousand soldiers were evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant, and Russia is consolidating control of Mariupol. It is making plans to annex the southwestern parts of the country.
Les mer »