Posted on 04/21/2022 11:01:51 AM PDT by Navy Patriot
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called off an operation to storm the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariuol, where over 2,000 Ukrainian militants remain entrenched, according to the Russian military. At a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, the head of state demanded that the plant be blocked so that "even a fly can’t get in or out," and another offer to surrender be made to those holed up at the facility. TASS has put together vital information on decisions made by the commander-in-chief.
Russian troops and the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have taken control of the entire city of Mariupol except for the Azovstal plant, Shoigu reported to the president. According to the defense chief, the plant, where "the remaining nationalist militants and foreign mercenaries are ensconced," has been securely blocked. Shoigu pointed out that the Kiev regime had significantly fortified Mariupol where about 8,100 troops, militants from nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries were stationed at the time when the city was surrounded. Over 4,000 Ukrainian fighters were killed during military activities and another almost 1,500 surrendered to Russia. However, Shoigu did not reveal the number of Russian casualties.
Russian and DPR forces took every measure to protect civilian lives during the operation to liberate Mariupol, the defense minister stressed. Starting on March 21, humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and foreign nationals opened every day, Russia managed to evacuate 142,700 people and release all those who were being held hostage at the Mariupol port. The current situation in the city "makes it possible to launch activities to restore order, ensure the return of local residents and set up peaceful life," Shoigu added.
(Excerpt) Read more at tass.com ...
Hey Tass....... Moscow is burning.
Moscow is now on fire........ that is the future
I agree.
Well, a couple of points support that, the breakaway Oblasts are a very large part of the Industrial, Manufacturing, Mining Industries in Ukraine, and the Workers (many Russian Speaking) are skilled and oriented to heavy industry, mining, and infrastructure.
However, Ukraine has been shelling said industries and workers for about eight years, so much damage has been done.
Russia will have to rebuild all of that alone.
Would they opt to protect Azovastal Steel now, or write it off for future reconstruction?
I frankly, don't know the answer.
I did not think he was rational enough to do this. Had he attacked the Ukies could have recalled for all the image of the grain elevator at Stalingrad. A very powerful memory in all of what used to be the Soviet Union. A rallying point, like the Alamo for Texicans.
Right. They will have about 20 more days left.
Unless they got a hell of a lot of food and water.
There were a hell of a lot of Japanese entombed within caves in the South Pacific Islands by our boys during WW2.
A few days ago, there was a report that Shoigu had had a massive heart attack and was in the hospital, sidelined. Has the Defense Minister actually been seen since then?
Tass has quoted Shoigu a couple of times since said date, however Tass is a wire service that also references previous interviews for their own updates without explanation.
I would be in favor of giving Putin a participation award (so that he can "save face") - and then two bullets just behind the ear.
Regards,
Well, it would be a smart move if the whole Ukrainian army were penned up in there, but they are not.
So this is just tying down Russian troops who will now be unable to do anything but siege that plant for the foreseeable future, while the Ukrainian forces are not likewise constrained.
Consider the Russian attempts to seal off Grozny…Granted, this is a smaller area being surrounded, and the Russians have probably learned a thing or two since way back then, but on that score, a lot of footage of Russian troops in Ukraine could be easily confused with footage from Chechnya…Hell, some of it probably IS footage from Chechnya, but the fact that large portions their military hasn’t evolved since the mid to late 90s is telling in a different way.
“they are going to put an airtight perimeter around it”
Doesn’t Azovstal have its own port? So they would have to blockade it in order to seal the perimeter.
And to blockade it they will need ships to be very close to shore. I’m foreseeing a repeat of the Moskva if they try that.
” on multiple layers separated by 3 feet of concrete under the plant”
3 meters, not 3 feet. That’s why bombs and artillery are useless. Russia will be forced to escalate to chemical weapons if they really want to take the plant.
Hogwash. Putin himself made a veiled threat to use chemical weapons on the plant to clear it, that’s not “treating them with respect”.
The should just dump piles of old tires around and set them on fire.
It’s surrounded on land, just like Paulus at Stalingrad. There’s no escape. And no Uke access to the Sea of Azov anyway. It’s a Russian lake now.
Russian flag is now on the top of Mariupol Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZnBVR7tjNY
Да, нем нога.
Ukraine v Russia | Mariupol steelworks siege
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLTUrUIZLGg
Like the submarine pens at Lorient, not surrendered until May 1945.
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