The city of Mariupol on the Azov Sea is almost entirely in Russian hands. Ukrainian fighters, along with around 200 civilians, are still holed up in a complex tunnel system under the extensive factory site in Azovstal. Russian troops have been moving into the compound for two days, said the commander of Ukraine’s Azov regiment, Denis Prokopenko. “There are heavy, bloody fights.”
A ceasefire of several hours has been announced for Thursday, Friday and Saturday so that these people can get to safety. In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised the same for the Ukrainian side. “We hope to continue rescuing people from Azovstal, from Mariupol,” he said in his evening video address.
Military parade in Mariupol
A few days before May 9, the “Day of Victory” over Hitler’s Germany, the Kremlin sent senior official Sergey Kiriyenko to Mariupol. The former head of government organizes Russian domestic politics for President Vladimir Putin. According to the information, he visited the Ilitsch steelworks and the port in the city that was about to fall. Kiriyenko is said to be preparing a military parade there, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence service. According to Moscow’s plans, Mariupol should become the center of the “celebrations” on May 9th. The city’s central streets are currently being “cleared of debris, bodies and unexploded ordnance.”