Putin applauds Mariupol’s “Successful Liberation”

Moscow: Vladimir Putin praised Russia’s “liberation” of Mariupol on Thursday after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed him that Moscow has control of the Ukrainian port city except for the Azovstal steel complex.

Moscow’s takeover of Mariupol on the Azov Sea would be a major strategic achievement, allowing Moscow to connect occupied Crimea to the pro-Russian separatist territory in eastern Ukraine.

Shoigu told Putin in a televised meeting that “Mariupol has been liberated.”  “The remaining nationalist formations took refuge in the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant.”

According to Shoigu, the country’s defence minister, there are still some 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers sheltered in the plant’s network of underground tunnels.

However, President Putin praised the Russian military’s victory in the “liberation” of Mariupol and ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces from Azovstal, deeming it “impractical.”

“There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can escape,” Putin said.

According to reports, the city was under Russian siege for more than a month, during which time its residents were starved of food and water and had no access to electricity.

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