Battle for Ukrainian port city of Mariupol intensifies

The battle for the strategically important southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is intensifying. The Russians announced new fighting against Ukrainian troops defending the city on the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Russian army said it had managed to prevent an evacuation of Ukrainian officers from the besieged city. The Russians allegedly shot down two helicopters that should have evacuated the commanders. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow spoke about leaders of the nationalist Azov battalion.

Moscow had previously proposed that Ukrainian fighters lay down their weapons and leave the city “by an agreed route” into territory controlled by Kiev. The Ukrainian army is said to have ignored the proposal. “Since the Ukrainian government in Kiev is not interested in saving the lives of its soldiers, Mariupol will be liberated from nationalists,” the defense ministry said.

The Azov militia helped expel pro-Russian rebels from Mariupol in 2014, the year the Russians annexed the Crimean peninsula. Two pro-Russian regions also split off at the time. Mariupol lies between these areas and Crimea.