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The British daily “The Sun” wrote today that Putin’s army seeks to starve thousands of Ukrainian fighters by blocking them in massive tunnel systems below the besieged metallurgical plant in Mariupol.
The multi-storey system of underground tunnels and bunkers under the Asovstal foundry has become the main point of resistance from the Ukrainian Navy and other soldiers and officials defending the area.
Russia says there are at least 2,000 fighters hiding underground, along with officials, civilians and mercenaries, and has demanded that the area be isolated so that “no flies” pass unnoticed.
Stopping further attacks on the plant Putin said today: “There is no need to go down to those catacombs and crawl to the underground industrial plants. “Block the industrial area so that no flies pass.”
Western officials said the failure of Russian forces to seize the last pocket of the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol was hampering the offensive.
Other officials said the Russians could still achieve military advantages even though these are unlikely to be quick.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainians who are resisting inside the Mariupol metallurgical plant are being compared by the media to the “300 Spartans”, despite the Russian threats, they will be left to starve underground.
In the capital Kiev, deputy. The Ukrainian prime minister told AFP that hundreds of bodies had been recovered from the city since the Russian army left late last month.
The British daily Guardian wrote that in Mariupol, the system of underground tunnels in Azovstal is spread over more than 6 square kilometers and at least 6-7 floors.
A commander of the Ukrainian Marines fighting in Mariupol said yesterday that his forces “may last only a few days, if not hours”, as the Russian ultimatum to surrender expired without any capitulation.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Russia had decided to block the plant because it could not take it by force. “They can physically catch Azovstal, they realized that, they would suffer big losses. “Our defenders continue to hold it.”
Putin’s order to stop the attack means that the Russians hope the defenders surrender by running out of food and ammunition. The bombing of the plant may continue but this counts as ineffective as the underground tunnels are isolated and protected from attacks.
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