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The reason why Mariupol is especially important to Russia in the military campaign in Ukraine

Russia announced on April 21 that it had taken control of the strategic city of Mariupol on the Azov coast, while about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers remained entrenched inside the Azovstal steel plant.

The control of this city not only has military and economic significance, but also serves as a mental reassurance for Russian soldiers after a long time facing strong resistance from Ukraine. .

Military strategic role

Mariupol has a population of more than 400,000 people before the war, is Ukraine’s largest city on the Sea of ​​Azov and is the main port serving the industries and agriculture of Eastern Ukraine. It is also home to some of Ukraine’s largest metal mills, including the Azovstal steel plant – one of Europe’s largest metallurgical facilities.

Before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, Mariupol was the largest city controlled by the Ukrainian government in the Donbass region, in eastern Ukraine, covering the two regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. Acquiring the city of Mariupol will give Russia control of almost the entire coastal zone of the Sea of ​​Azov, securing a land route connecting the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014 to the Russian mainland and regions to the east. Eastern Ukraine is held by the separatists.

Control of Mariupol would help link the two main axes of Russia’s offensive, while making it easier for the Russian military to launch a major offensive against Ukrainian forces in the eastern region. And yet, it also gives Moscow a larger position in any peace negotiations with Ukraine.

Samuel Charap, senior political scientist at Rand Corp, thinks the city of Mariupol will provide a “northern highway” that would allow Russian troops from Mariupol to merge with units on the move. down from the Kharkiv area, to encircle Ukrainian forces.

Speaking to MSNBC earlier this week, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said: “It’s geographically important for the Russians to have a land route connecting Crimea. If their goal is to blockade the Donbass region and encircle Ukrainian forces there so that these forces cannot move anywhere else in the country, then it makes sense to try to capture Mariupol.”

Has symbolic meaning

The Russian army surrounded Mariupol at the very beginning of the military campaign. The war here took place very fiercely, causing many infrastructures to be destroyed and a large number of people to be evacuated.

Ukraine sent some of the best forces in the army to the defense of Mariupol, including the 36th Marine Brigade, units of the Interior Ministry, border guards and the Azov Regiment. Russia deployed fighter jets from Chechnya, to launch the attack on Mariupol. After three weeks of fighting, Ukrainian forces were forced to enter the entrenched phase, while Russian forces pushed deeper into the city.

For both Ukraine and Russia, Mariupol has symbolic significance. In 2014, after fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine, Russian-backed separatists briefly occupied Mariupol before Ukrainian troops took control of the area.

Russia’s victory in Mariupol will help President Putin improve his position in the country, especially before Russia’s Victory Day (May 9). But that victory is far from clear because Russia still has no control over the Azovstal steel plant, where some Ukrainian forces are entrenched, noted analyst Charap.

Azovstal is considered a “fortified fortress” with a 24 km long maze of underground tunnels and passages, allowing its defenders to maneuver freely to repel Russian attacks.

“This plant has a very large area and Ukrainians can move through underground tunnels to quickly change positions,” said Ukrainian military expert Oleh Zhdanov. Before the war, the Ukrainian authorities had prepared for the attack by building food and water reserves at Azovstal.

Economic importance

Mariupol is the largest trading port on the Sea of ​​Azov and an important hub for steel and grain exports. The capture of the city allows Russia to control Ukraine’s coast there, while crippling maritime trade “important to Ukraine’s economy,” said Tracey German, a policy research fellow. Russian security at King’s College London, UK.

For Moscow, controlling such a large port would make maritime traffic between mainland Russia, Donbass and Crimea easier. Mariupol also has a huge metallurgical industry, which generates large revenues.

The Azovstal Steel Plant produces more than 4 million tons of crude steel per year and provides livelihoods for tens of thousands of people. The plant accounted for about a third of Ukraine’s steel production in 2019. Steel and related industries accounted for 12% of Ukraine’s GDP that year.

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