Donetsk separatists say fighting has shifted from the suburbs to central Mariupol, with British intelligence saying Russia has made the most progress there.
“Sweeping operation is taking place at the center Mariupol, most of the nationalists gathered at the Azovstal factory. The enemy’s defenses are very solid, but we can solve the situation in the very near future and be able to declare complete control of the city,” said the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin. on television on March 28.
Reporter Ria Novosti At the scene, the situation in central Mariupol was still very tense, with intense fighting taking place in the industrial area and surrounding areas.
Armored vehicles of Ukrainian separatist forces in the southern city of Mariupol on March 27. Photo: Reuters.
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said about 160,000 people were still trapped in the city and accused the force of Russia hinder the evacuation of civilians. Vice Prime Minister Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that there were no plans to open the evacuation corridor on March 28 because intelligence suggested that Russia could be “provocative” along the route.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it carried out an attack with Kalibr cruise missiles launched from warships, targeting the Ushomyr and Veselovka regions in the northern province. Zhytomyr, destroy the large ammunition depot here. “These depots supply weapons to many units on the outskirts of the capital Kiev,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
City Mayor Irpin in the northwestern suburbs of Kiev, said government forces had regained control of the area, warning the Russian military could launch further offensive operations. Moscow has not commented on the information.
Ukrainian officials say there is no sign of Russia giving up on plans to besiege the capital Kiev, despite Moscow’s announcement last week that the military operation would focus on “liberating the Donbass region”. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army, two battalion-level combat groups of the 106th Russian Airborne Division had to withdraw from the suburbs of Kiev after suffering heavy losses.
The Ukrainian military also said that its units continued to prevent Russian forces from gaining control of important highways and residential areas in the capital Kiev, and repelled five waves of attacks by Russian forces in Kiev. Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials believe that Russia is transferring Iskander short-range ballistic missiles to southeastern Belarus, while continuing to deploy additional units from the Pacific Fleet and the Western Military District.
Russia and Belarus have not commented on the above information.
The appearance of the Ukrainian battlefield after a month of fighting. Click on the picture to see details.
The British Ministry of Defense released an intelligence report that said Russian forces were still facing a logistical shortage that had prevented them from making “significant changes” on the battlefield in the past 24 hours. However, Russia has successfully isolated Ukraine from world maritime trade by controlling the coastal areas in the south of the country.
Since the outbreak of armed conflict, nearly 3.9 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine and more than 6.5 million have been displaced from their homes, the United Nations says.
Vu Anh (According to Ria Novosti, Reuters)
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