The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The battle of Mariupol ends for the "heroes" of Azovstal

2022-05-17T19:20:28.216Z


Exhausted from weeks of fighting and siege, Ukrainian soldiers began to surrender. The Battle of Azovstal ends with a sham victory and defeat. On Tuesday, 264 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Russian forces " including 51 seriously injured ", according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Vladimir Putin's army failed to defeat them directly. A vast iron and steel complex, the factory was almost impregnable. But after weeks under a deluge of fire, the soldiers entrenched in the stee


The Battle of Azovstal ends with a sham victory and defeat.

On Tuesday, 264 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered to Russian forces "

including 51 seriously injured

", according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Vladimir Putin's army failed to defeat them directly.

A vast iron and steel complex, the factory was almost impregnable.

But after weeks under a deluge of fire, the soldiers entrenched in the steelworks had reached the end of their strength.

For lack of food and support, no other way out was possible for them.

The Russian army can claim success in finally controlling the port.

But at what cost?

To discover

  • Follow information on the war in Ukraine with the Figaro application

The factory, where the last soldiers were hiding, embodies the fierce Ukrainian resistance against the Russian offensive.

“The defense of Mariupol changed the course of the war

,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in congratulating the soldiers.

He assured that discussions were underway to allow the evacuation of other people still trapped in the factory.

Their number and their situation were not known exactly.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, a thousand soldiers, including 600 wounded, are still there.

Negotiations for their evacuation promise to be difficult.

Read also

The war in Ukraine gives weight to Eastern Europe

If the civilians evacuated at the beginning of May had been able to reach Ukrainian territory, the 53 seriously injured evacuated on Monday were transported from Azovstal "

to Novoazovsk for medical assistance

" and the "

211 others were transported to Olenivka by a humanitarian corridor

", announced Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar on Monday evening.

These two localities are under Russian control.

The fate of these prisoners is uncertain.

“Saving the lives of our guys”

On the Ukrainian side, it is hoped that they will be repatriated within the framework of a

prisoner “

exchange ” procedure.

But nothing is less certain.

The Azov battalion, which fought in the maze of the factory, embodies the absolute adversary for Moscow.

With his nationalist acquaintances, he gives a face to the accusations of “Nazism” brandished by the Russian authorities.

"

Nazi criminals must not be exchanged

," threatened Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma in Moscow.

"

They don't deserve life

," added MP Leonid Sloutski.

The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to declare the Azov Battalion a banned terrorist organization in Russia.

The prisoners of Azovstal “

will be treated in accordance with international law

”, commented, more vaguely, the spokesman of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov.

He did not indicate whether he considered them prisoners of war or war criminals.

Read also

Sviatoslav Vakartchouk, the rock star on a tour of the front with Ukrainian soldiers: the story of the special envoy of Figaro

Either way, they were in danger of dying.

The order to shorten the fighting came from above.

The Azovstal soldiers have "

fulfilled their combat mission

", welcomed the Ukrainian general staff.

Unfortunately, today Ukraine cannot unblock Azovstal by military means,

” the Defense Ministry added.

Ukraine needs its living heroes

,” summed up President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The main thing "

is to save the lives of our guys

", he added.

Their resistance is, for the Ukrainians, a victory.

"Tactical Miracle"

By keeping Russia in check in Mariupol since the first days of the conflict, the Ukrainian forces have made it possible to fix part of the Russian units around the city, inflicting heavy losses on them and preventing them from redeploying on other fronts.

Marioupol played the role of the hedgehog

,” explains Joseph Henrotin, editor-in-chief of DSI magazine and specialist in defense issues.

At the beginning of the siege, twelve Russian battalions were thus mobilized.

Two still had to be held down to encircle the factory.

The Ukrainian soldiers continued their incursions on the enemy lines until the end of their capacities.

"

It's a tactical miracle that they held out for so long

," said Joseph Henrotin.

Symbolically, the Russian victory in Mariupol will allow Vladimir Putin to claim control of the entire coastal strip.

The port city was among the Russian objectives from the 2014 war in the Donbass.

She is almost shaved.

400,000 people lived there before the conflict.

Tactically, its conquest will not change the course of the war.

After the failure of the first phase of the enemy offensive, the Ukrainians in the Donbass were able to reconstitute their capacities with the support provided by Western equipment.

Read also

Sieverodonetsk, the Donbass lock under pressure from Russian forces: the story of the special envoy of Figaro

Unimaginable in February, a victory is possible.

In the Donbass, the war “

does not oppose David against Goliath

sums up a French military source.

The balance of power is much more balanced.

Exhausted and poorly organized, the Russian forces can rely on the power of their artillery to carry out their offensive.

They slowly nibble away at plots of land.

But they also accumulate setbacks, as in Kharkiv where the Ukrainians have progressed.

They have demonstrated an ability to deconcentrate their forces and decentralize their command which gives them a tactical advantage.

Western artillery gives them a deep firing capability that is sometimes superior to that of the Russians.

The conditions are met to allow them to imagine a counter-offensive.

It will have to confront the demanding reality on the ground and Vladimir Putin's refusal to admit failure.

On Tuesday, Russia continued its strikes on Ukrainian territory, hoping to disrupt its adversary's logistics.

The Russian determination to continue the war does not prevent doubt from creeping in.

The video of an expert on the first Russian channel worrying about the isolation of Moscow on the international scene has made the rounds on social networks.

Like a confession escaping censorship.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-05-17

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-02-18T19:41:16.885Z
News/Politics 2024-03-15T13:05:48.118Z
News/Politics 2024-01-30T15:31:17.743Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.