Of all the Ukrainian cities attacked, Mariupol (population around 450,000) is considered one of the hardest hit. The electricity and water supply have been cut off for two weeks; only a few people have so far made it out of the city on the Azov Sea via an escape corridor. According to official figures, more than 2,300 people have died in the meantime.
But now the Ukrainian armed forces are spreading news that sounds like a ray of hope for the trapped population: a Russian advance north of the city has been repelled – with high losses on the side of the invaders.
As the Ukrainian general staff announced on Tuesday, around 150 attackers were killed. In addition, the Ukrainian fighters destroyed two tanks and several armored vehicles. Artillery fire and air raids were said to have destroyed further military equipment and fired on advancing enemy columns. The ultra-nationalist Azov battalion posted photos of destroyed Russian military vehicles on its Telegram channel. The information cannot be independently verified.
For days, Mariupol has been besieged by units of the Russian army and the so-called “pro-Russian separatists”. Several evacuation attempts have failed so far. In the symbolically and strategically important city in southeastern Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of people are holding out in catastrophic conditions.
The Ukrainian general staff also announced that the Russian advance was halting across the country. The Ukrainian attacks on supply lines had an effect. More than 13,500 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began on February 24.
According to the General Staff, Ukrainian forces also destroyed more than 400 tanks and around 1,300 armored vehicles, as well as 81 combat aircraft and 95 helicopters. Again, this information cannot be independently verified.
Also successful in Mykolayiv
In the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolayiv, Ukrainian troops are said to have succeeded in repelling further Russian attacks. Governor Vitali Kim announced that the situation had recently calmed down somewhat. Russian troops trying to take Mykolaiv, the regional capital of the same name, were pushed back, Kim says in a TV interview.
The port city will continue to be shelled. On Monday alone, 80 people were injured, including two children. The information cannot be independently verified. The governor was combative: “You can be 99 percent sure that the Mykolayiv region will stop the Russian advance.”
After all, the Russian troops would have to cross the Bug River to do so. “We will not surrender our bridges to the invaders.” Mykolaiv is east of Odessa on the Black Sea coast.