The Russian army continues its offensive on Ukraine. Its stated objective, now: “total control of Donbass and southern Ukraine”. Faced with Ukrainian resistance, Moscow has decided to concentrate its forces in the east and south of the country, withdrawing from the vicinity of kyiv where hundreds of civilian bodies have been discovered. The heaviest fighting is now taking place in northern Crimea, which Moscow annexed by force in 2014, and near pro-Russian independence territories. Every week, 20 minutes provides an update on the war in Ukraine in four infographics.
The situation in the country on April 22
On this map, we can see the advance of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, on the 58th day of the invasion. This Friday, Moscow announced that it was aiming for total control of southern Ukraine. Mariupol, continuously shelled since the start of the Russian offensive, is still the subject of fierce fighting.
In the Donbass, “heavy shelling and fighting continues, as Russia tries to advance towards localities such as Lyman, Bugayvka, Barvinkove and Popasna, as part of its plan for the region”, underlined this Friday the British ministry of defense. In the Kyiv area, Russian forces withdrew and Kyiv discovered many corpses of civilians, whom enemy soldiers are accused of having shot.
Mariupol on the edge of the abyss
Mariupol is one of the martyr cities of the war in Ukraine. Constantly pounded by the Russian army, the port city was destroyed to “more than 90%”, was indignant its mayor, Vadim Boïtchenko, at the beginning of April. Since Moscow has reviewed its military ambitions, concentrating on the east of the country, the resistance of Mariupol is withering: the Russian army surrounds the city and exerts an increasingly strong pressure.
Thursday, Moscow claimed to have “liberated” the city but kyiv assures that Ukrainian forces are still in the huge Azovsta metallurgical complex. These soldiers are entrenched with a few hundred civilians, according to kyiv. Vladimir Putin refused to launch an assault, deemed too costly in lives. The Russian head of state preferred to order the steelworks to be besieged “so that not a fly would pass”.
The total fall of Mariupol would be an important victory for Moscow, which seeks to create a land bridge linking the Crimea annexed in 2014 with the pro-Russian separatist areas in the Donbass region.
Manhush mass graves
After the mass grave discovered in Boucha and in the kyiv region, new charges of war crimes are brought against Russia, this time near Mariupol. Recent satellite images released by US company Maxar Technologies show “the existence of a mass grave site in northwest Manhush”, a village 20 kilometers west of the port city.
In this village alone, “the occupants would have buried between 3,000 and 9,000 residents”, said the town hall of Mariupol on Telegram. “They are digging thirty-meter holes and bringing the bodies of our residents of Mariupol in trucks,” said the mayor of the city, Vadym Boychenko, during a press briefing broadcast on YouTube. At present, these claims could not be independently verified.
Russia pushes Sweden and Finland towards NATO
Until now, Sweden and Finland had always refused to consider a candidacy for NATO. But the policy of non-alignment of these countries is shaken by the decision of Russia to invade Ukraine, which is not part of the military alliance.
The Finnish government presented last week to parliamentarians a “white paper” which emphasizes that only membership of NATO makes it possible to benefit from the “umbrella” of its article 5 of collective defence. Parliament has been considering this issue since Tuesday.
For their part, 51% of Swedes are in favor of joining NATO, according to a survey by the Novus Institute, while they were 45% a week ago. A figure that rises to 64% if their Finnish neighbors make the same choice. Ukraine is a candidate but its membership cannot be considered as long as the country is at war.