Russia claims control of Mariupol, President Putin orders a blockade of the steel factory

Currently 2,000 soldiers on the Ukraine still entrenched inside the Azovstal factory.

After hearing the Russian Defense Minister’s report, President Vladimir Putin called Shoigu’s plan to attack the Azovstal plant “impossible”. Instead, Putin ordered a complete blockade of the Azovstal factory and canceled the plan to land in the area to avoid casualties.

Radio RT Shoigu quoted Minister Shoigu as saying that when Mariupol was surrounded by Russian forces in early March, there were about 8,100 Ukrainian soldiers, mercenaries and forces from the Azov battalion defending the city.

Shoigu reported to President Putin that an estimated 1,400 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered and more than 142,000 people were evacuated from the city.

Azovstal Iron and Steel Plant in Mariupol. Photo: Sputnik

Regarding the Azovstal plant, Shoigu said that the Russian military and its supporting forces need another 3-4 days to take full control.

In the past few days, Russia has twice opened humanitarian corridors to facilitate the departure of Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

The Russian Defense Ministry has called on the remaining Ukrainian forces in the plant to lay down their weapons, provide safety guarantees, if they accept the proposal to surrender and cease all hostilities.

On April 21, Russia ceased fire and opened a humanitarian corridor for 2 hours – at the request of President Putin – to assist civilians still trapped in the steel factory to evacuate.

President Putin said it was impractical to storm a steel plant. Photo: Reuters

Sergey Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade entrenched at the Azovstal plant, said that “hundreds” of civilians were trapped in the factory.

“We have prepared 90 buses and 25 ambulances,” Shoigu said. He said the Russian military also installed cameras to monitor the situation. “No one left the Azovstal factory today,” Shoigu stressed.

About 100 civilians living in the vicinity took advantage of this opportunity to evacuate, according to Reuters.

Shoigu reported that Russian forces had also freed all “hostages” held at the port of Mariupol, including the crew.

The statement by the Russian Defense Ministry came after weeks of Russian forces besieging the city of Mariupol and concentrating their fire in this area. Capturing Mariupol would have both strategic and symbolic significance for Russia.

However, Ukraine has not yet confirmed this information.