Vladimir Putin has needed three months to complete the battle of Mariupol, the port city on the Sea of Azov that connects the Donbas basin and the Crimean peninsula, both in the hands of Russia.
It was his first military victory after the failure already in the first days of the offensive to decapitate the Ukrainian Government and replace it with a puppet Cabinet.
Each Russian territorial conquest is preceded by bombardments against the civilian population, residential buildings and infrastructure.
But Mariupol also has a double strategic value.
In addition to linking Crimea with the region already controlled by Russia, it completes Moscow's maritime domain of the entire Sea of Azov.
Only the coast and the port of Odessa now guarantee Ukraine's access to the sea, so it would not be surprising if a new offensive began to close the Black Sea.
Mariupol also has a symbolic value: in the first Donbas war of 2014, the city center came under the control of the pro-Russian rebels, but was recovered by the workers' militias of the steel plant, the Ukrainian Army and the Azov Battalion, initially made up of extreme right-wing nationalist militants.
This militarized group served Putin to brand the entire Ukraine and his government as Nazi, so that he can present the liquidation of the Mariupol resistance as part of the denazification process that he claimed when launching his war.
initially made up of extreme right-wing nationalist militants.
This militarized group served Putin to brand the entire Ukraine and his government as Nazi, so that he can present the liquidation of the Mariupol resistance as part of the denazification process that he claimed when launching his war.
initially made up of extreme right-wing nationalist militants.
This militarized group served Putin to brand the entire Ukraine and his government as Nazi, so that he can present the liquidation of the Mariupol resistance as part of the denazification process that he claimed when launching his war.
The departure of the civilian population sheltering in the plant and of numerous wounded, as well as the delivery of the unarmed soldiers —declared heroes of Ukraine by Zelenski—, has been managed by the International Red Cross.
He is in charge of monitoring Russian compliance with the norms established by the Geneva war conventions with the huge number of Ukrainian prisoners.
It is doubtful that the Kremlin has a great concern for international legislation, even more so when initiatives have appeared in the Russian Duma that seek to collectively charge prisoners with terrorism and even apply the death penalty.
Contrast these proposals with the first war crimes trial of a Russian soldier who murdered a civilian in Bucha and the life sentence imposed.
It is essential that the international community and multilateral organizations exercise close vigilance over the treatment of prisoners to avoid new atrocities, ill-treatment, torture and summary executions as have already been seen in these three months.
After the surrender of the last Mariupol resisters, their release can be achieved through prisoner exchange.
In the midst of a military escalation that does not stop, signs of detente and humanity going in the opposite direction are more necessary than ever.