Russia says it has taken control of the port of Mariupol. The remaining Ukrainian troops are surrounded – with no chance of escape. Mariupol’s mayor contradicts the information.
The Russian army has now taken complete control of the port of the largely destroyed Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The commercial port was “liberated” by Ukrainian Azov fighters, said Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.
The remaining Ukrainian troops are “blocked and deprived of the opportunity to escape from the encirclement,” Konashenkov continued. There was no confirmation of this from the Ukrainian side.
Mariupol’s mayor speaks of “false report”
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko dismissed reports of the port being captured. “I consider it a hoax,” said Boitschenko in the ARD morning show. “Of course, my attitude is skeptical, we hear Russian lies everywhere, which is why I recommend only using verified information,” said Boichenko, who was connected via video and has since left Mariupol.
“Our defenders continue to defend the city of Mariupol, the Azov regiment and the Ukrainian marines are deployed,” Boichenko said. “The Russians are deploying new forces, but we are holding the line and Mariupol remains a Ukrainian city, and of course that infuriates Russia.”
According to an assessment by the US war research institute Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian troops will “probably” conquer the city only in the coming week.
Nine escape corridors established
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the current military situation is not significantly different from that of the past few days. Russian troops continued to step up activities in the east and south of the country, Zelenskyy said. They tried to recoup their losses, the bombing and artillery attacks continued. A major Russian offensive is expected shortly.
According to the government in Kyiv, nine escape corridors were set up in the contested regions of Luhansk and Donetsk for today. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said there was an escape route for private vehicles from the particularly hard-fought port city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region in the direction of the city of Zaporizhia.
Eight more corridors have been set up in the Luhansk region – with the provisional destination of Bakhmut. But they could only work if the Russians stopped firing, said Wereshchuk. In addition, an evacuation train should travel from Pokrovsk via Kyiv to Chop in the south-west of Ukraine, according to the capital.
Attacks on Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka feared
British military intelligence anticipates major Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka. The widespread rocket and artillery attacks and efforts to concentrate troops for an offensive also showed a return to traditional Russian military doctrine, the British Ministry of Defense said in its updated situation assessment. A significant number of Russian soldiers and equipment are currently tied up because of the ongoing defense of the port city of Mariupol.
Russian troops are said to have left large quantities of unexploded explosive devices in the north of the country, according to Ukrainian sources. Tens of thousands of unexploded shells or mines are in the area, Zelensky said. Mine clearance continues.
Medvedev accuses the Ukrainian government of torture
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, meanwhile, reacted with insults to the arrest of pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk in Ukraine and leveled serious allegations at Kyiv.
“Some freaks calling themselves the ‘Ukrainian government’ say they want to beat a confession out of Viktor Medvedchuk, sentence him ‘quickly and fairly’ and then exchange them for prisoners,” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused Kyiv of using torture methods – without providing any evidence.
Medvedchuk was one of the most influential politicians in Ukraine for many years and is also considered the closest ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the country. Putin is also the godfather of Medvedchuk’s daughter. Shortly before the outbreak of war on February 24, Medvedchuk escaped from his house arrest. Medvedchuk was arrested by the Ukrainian secret service SBU on Tuesday.
