The city has been under siege for several days, leaving at least 160,000 residents stranded without water, electricity, medicine and food, local authorities said.
Mariupol is the largest city of Ukraine on the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Kerch Strait.
Named after Maria Feodorovna, the empress of Russian Emperor Alexander III, the city is located about 70km from the Russian border, and only a few kilometers from the eastern region dominated by pro-Russian separatists.
Winning Mariupol would help Russia establish a land connection between the two self-proclaimed republics in the Donbas region and the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
Winning Mariupol will also help Russia control Ukraine’s Azov Sea border and cut off Ukraine’s connection with the Black Sea. The Russians captured the Black Sea port of Kherson, about 380km from Mariupol.
Winning Mariupol would also help the Russians get out of the bog there and take on new missions, like fortifying other fronts.
 Mariupol connects the two self-proclaimed republics in the Donbass region with the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 by road. |
Economic role
Mariupol plays an important role in the Ukrainian economy, as the port is used for the export of iron, steel, grain and industrial machinery, providing a significant source of revenue for the Ukrainian government. It was a major coal export port during Soviet times.
A senior Ukrainian official said on March 21 that the country could lose $6 billion in grain exports because ports, including Mariupol, are under siege.
Turkey, Egypt and Yemen are countries that depend on flour imported from Ukraine.
Mariupol is home to Illich Iron and Steel Works, Ukraine’s second-largest metallurgical enterprise, and Azovstal, one of the country’s largest steel-rolling enterprises.
Mariupol has a deeper jetty than other Ukrainian ports in the region. Control of this port will help Russia move equipment, goods and people faster and easier to the Donbass and Crimea.
Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Losing this city would be a huge psychological blow to the government and military, as well as significantly lose Kiev’s advantage at the negotiating table.
On the contrary, a victory in Mariupol will significantly boost morale of the Russian army, in the context of Western doubts about Moscow’s ability to achieve the goals set out for the military campaign in the neighboring country.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Soha.vn – Read the original article here
