On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commended the “courageous” resilience shown by Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv, Borodyanka, Chernihiv, and particularly Mariupol—a southern port city on the Sea of Azov. Despite enduring heavy military losses, Moscow continued to launch an assault on Mariupol from the Russia-controlled Crimean Peninsula in an effort to gain complete control over the Black Sea coast.
Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksiy Reznikov also lauded the resistance in Mariupol, saying, “Today, Mariupol is saving Kyiv, Dnipro and Odessa,” adding that the “heroic defenders” of Mariupol have played a crucial role in thwarting Russia’s plans.
Mariupol is the hell on Earth pic.twitter.com/jhXGi3qQrH
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 21, 2022
In an address to the Ukrainian people, Zelensky slammed the Russian forces for attacking an art school in Mariupol, claiming that the school served as a shelter for 400 civilians, whose fate remains unknown. He also vowed to take revenge on the Russian pilot responsible for the bombing. Additionally, Zelensky confirmed that around 4,000 Mariupol residents had been evacuated to Zaporizhzhia by bus on Sunday, with plans to send more such buses.
According to Reuters, about 400,000 people are been trapped in Mariupol, with no access to water, food, electricity, or other essential needs. Its residents continue to face an uncertain future, as some parts of the city are now under Russian control. Local authorities estimate that more than 2,500 people have died in Mariupol since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.
Last week, Russia’s Defence Ministry warned that it was “tightening the noose” around Mariupol. Over the weekend, Moscow claimed to have facilitated the safe evacuation of 59,000 people from Mariupol and accused “Ukrainian nationalists” of compounding the humanitarian crisis in Mariupol.
Russia is persistently trying to legally justify a massive aggression against 🇺🇦: stories about biolaboratories, Nazi battalions, shelling of Donetsk by heavy artillery with thousands of victims. All this is an absolute lie, which is rejected by the world watching the war live.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 21, 2022
After fleeing the violence in Mariupol, a Greek diplomat said, “What I saw, I hope no one will ever see,” adding that Mariupol is now part of the list of cities such as Guernica, Coventry, and Aleppo that have been completely ravaged by war.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defence Reznikov claimed that the Russian troops have given up on capturing Kyiv and are “out of breath” in Chernihiv and Sumy, adding that Russian forces in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Luhansk have been dealt “painful blows.”
Most of the 200k ppl still in #Mariupol have been sheltering in basements to avoid death/injury but ppl with limited mobility incl. older ppl and ppl w/ disabilities could not make it down into basements once electricity was cut and elevators stopped working 1/📸Sergii Marakov pic.twitter.com/BVJmyuZv3j
— Belkis Wille (@belkiswille) March 21, 2022
Experts suggest that Moscow’s forces are still facing a high rate of casualties and deteriorating morale, which they argue makes its presence in Ukraine unsustainable. According to the United States (US) intelligence, Russia has lost about 7,000 troops and between 14,000 are 21,000 injured—the majority of whom were poorly trained or conscripts.