The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that Mariupol has been taken and the administrative building of the Azovstal metallurgical plant is under control.
“Mariupol is ours… the city has been taken completely and irrevocably. The entire territory has been systematically cleared of nationalists, Bandera, demons and all other rubbish, especially the administrative building of the strategically important Azovstal metallurgical plant was taken under control and the entire adjacent territory was cleared ” said his Telegram channel.
Noting that the remains of the enemy forces were kept under a layer of concrete and iron on the site of the factory, Kadyrov said, “I am sure these walls will be the last thing they will see in their lives.”
According to the head of Chechnya, since the breakthrough of the city defense “Such an outcome was inevitable”. He noted that the enemy saw a lot, but did not take into account the most important thing – our “valiant warriors”.
“A banal disdain led to the successive fall of the Bandera fortifications,” said Kadyrov. He also accused the Ukrainian side of using “inhumane methods”, including choosing firing positions at residences and taking civilians hostage.
Earlier, Kadyrov had said that the Russian army would take control of the steel mill on April 21. “Everything is ready, the strategies are ready, the fighters are ready, it just takes time,” said the leader of Chechnya.
According to him, “this is very good news for all normal people who live and want to live in peace and harmony.” He also said that the opposition should surrender earlier.
“Unblock Mariupol by military means”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not rule out that the release of Mariupol could be achieved by military means, he stated this during a briefing with the prime ministers of Spain and Denmark.
“There is a military road. We need to prepare for this and we are preparing to be strong and we need the help of our partners here. It’s difficult for us. We need suitable weapons. But we think about it,” he said.
The second way, according to Zelensky, can be diplomatic and humanitarian, which can be implemented quickly. The president of Ukraine claims that Russia rejected the offer of exchange in Mariupol according to the formula “wounded for the wounded”.
The US does not believe in the capture of Mariupol
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also described the statement that “Ukrainian forces still hold positions in Mariupol” and that the city was placed under full Russian control as “disinformation”.
“We understand that the Ukrainian forces continue to hold their positions and that the President’s speech [Владимира] Putin and [российского] “Even more misinformation, the media’s Secretary of Defense, which we’ve seen in the last hours,” department spokesman Ned Price said during a briefing.
Cancellation of the attack on Azovstal
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and demanded the cancellation of the attack on Azovstal. impractical.
“This is the situation we have to think about, that is, we have to think about it all the time, but in this case, even more so, to save the life and health of our soldiers and officers. No need to climb into these catacombs and go underground through these industrial facilities”
said Putin. “Lock this industrial area so the flies don’t fly,” he ordered.
The President also instructed Shoigu to once again invite anyone who has not yet laid down their arms. At the meeting, Shoigu reported All of Mariupol under controland enemy forces were blocked on the territory of Azovstal.
The head of the Ministry of Defense said that in the last two days, Russia declared a regime of silence between 14:00 and 16:00 and opened humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians who may be on the territory of the facility.
Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said that the presence of Ukrainian formations in Azovstal. Will not “in any way” interfere with the establishment of a peaceful life in Mariupol.
Possible consequence of blocking Azovstal
Andrey Popov, member of the Alpha counterterrorism group Veterans Association, says that the decision to block the plant’s territory was determined by the principles of humanism.
“From a military point of view, in the presence of such a large number of enemies in a fortified spot, of course, by hitting them with special missiles, including the so-called vacuum bombs, it would be effective to simply neutralize, literally and figuratively, the manpower of the enemy located there. But the number of victims will be close to 100% – these are several thousand people who are now there, ”Popov said in an interview with Lenta.Ru.
He expressed the opinion that, despite the large area of \u200b\u200bthe facility, the implementation of the decision to block will not be so difficult, since the Russian troops have all the necessary technical means. Popov said that the enemy will surrender en masse when clean water and food supplies are depleted.
Parade for the withdrawal of civilians
Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onufry (Berezovsky) proposed to organize a procession From Orekhov to Azovstal in the Zaporozhye regionto take the wounded and corpses of the dead and withdraw the civilians.
“We ask for a truce in the period from Good Friday (April 22, 2022) to the bright Resurrection of Christ (April 24, 2022) in the city of Mariupol and its environs. Provide a humanitarian corridor for the passage of said prayer procession,” said Metropolitan Onufry.
At the same time, the USA stated that they do not plan to participate in the possible evacuation of the civilian population from Mariupol.
The US will not be on the ground to assist with the evacuation. There will be no US aircraft in the air to do this,” a Pentagon spokesperson said during a briefing.
Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland suggested that NATO allies take part in the evacuation of civilians and wounded soldiers from Mariupol, if Russia allowed it.
Source: Gazeta
