Putin’s order may mean that Russian officials are hoping they can wait for the defenders to surrender after running out of food or ammunition.
Russian troops have besieged the southeastern city since the early days of the conflict and largely pulverized it — and top officials have repeatedly indicated it was about to fall, but Ukrainian forces stubbornly held on. In recent weeks, they holed up in a sprawling steel plant, and Russian forces pounded the industrial site and repeatedly issued ultimatums ordering the defenders to surrender.
Even though Putin painted the mission to take Mariupol already a success and said the city had been "liberated," until the plant falls, he cannot declare a complete victory. Russian-backed separatists in the area previously seemed bent on taking every last inch of the city, which has seen some of the most dramatic fighting of the war and whose capture has both strategic and symbolic importance.
"This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date," the ministry said.Cheetahs were evacuated from their damaged enclosure at Feldman Ecopark in Ukraine, affected by shelling during Russia’s invasion of the country. Video posted on April 8, 2022, shows damage at the park. Credit: Feldman Ecopark via Storyful
In the meantime, Western powers are doubling down on their support of Ukraine, moving to push more military hardware in, heightening geopolitical stakes. In a video address, Zelenskyy said the Russians were not "abandoning their attempts to score at least some victory by launching a new, large-scale offensive."
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