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The Click Times: Russia LIVE Ukraine News Updates | Ukraine’s foreign minister has described the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking, and has suggested that Russia’s continued attacks there may be a “red line” that ends all efforts to reach a peaceful solution through negotiation. According to Dmytro Kuleba of CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are essentially surrounded by Russian forces.
He says that the Ukrainians “continue their struggle,” but that the city effectively no longer exists due to massive destruction.
According to Kuleba, his country has maintained “expert level” talks with Russia in recent weeks in the hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. However, citing the importance of Mariupol, he agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a “red line” that halts peace efforts.
TOPLINE:
Following weeks of savage conflict that city officials allege has killed thousands of people, Russian forces have driven Ukrainian resistance out of major districts of Mariupol and could entirely seize the beleaguered port city “within the next week,” according to the Institute for the Study of War.
The U.S.-backed government in Kiev announced that its forces have liberated Mariupol, but the Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces remain just one mile away. Thousands have died in months of fighting over the strategically significant seaside port city, U.S. officials said.
Key Facts:
- According to the think tank group, which is comprised of retired US military officers and other specialists, the few remaining Ukrainian troops in Mariupol—a southern city with a prewar population of over 400,000—are holed up around the Azovstal steel mill and in other “isolated pockets.”
2. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces have been driven out of the Port of Mariupol, which is located on the Sea of Azov, and Russia seized control of all Mariupol metropolitan districts on Saturday.
3. According to the think tank, Russian forces will likely “wipe out” the remaining Ukrainian troops in Mariupol in the next days.
4. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces would most likely use heavy firepower to force a surrender, but the surviving Ukrainian forces appear dead determined on fighting to the last, meaning the final strikes could be costly.
Key Background:
Following a weeks-long siege, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued an ultimatum to the last Ukrainian forces in Mariupol on Sunday morning, demanding surrender or risk destruction. Russia’s ultimatum passed without a surrender later that morning, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that his country’s military will “fight to the end.”As of Monday, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko stated that more than 10,000 residents had perished during the siege, and that the death toll could potentially exceed 20,000, though these claims have not been verified. Civilians have struggled to be evacuated from the city, and Russian forces are said to have targeted civilian shelters during their month-long siege.
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