Relentless Russian attacks pounded the last Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged city of Mariupol as a fighter apparently on the inside issued a video plea for help, saying defenders holed up in a giant steel plant “may have only a few days or hours left.”
Another attempt to evacuate civilians trapped in the pulverized port city failed Wednesday because of continued fighting, and the number of people fleeing Ukraine passed 5 million.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it submitted a draft of its demands for ending the war, and the West raced to supply Ukraine with heavier weapons to counter the Russians’ new drive to seize the industrial east.
Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an assessment Thursday that Russia likely desires to demonstrate significant successes ahead of its annual May 9 Victory Day celebrations. “This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date.”
A top US defence think tank says that Russia secured minor gains on Wednesday in its invasion of Ukraine.
The Institute for the Study of War reported marginal gains from the continued Russian assault by air and ground on Mariupol.
Ukrainian fighters in the embattled port city have been cornered into the massive Azovstal Steel Plant complex.
The think tank's daily intelligence assessment also found that invading forces had partially captured two key frontline towns in the east: Rubizhne and Popasna.
No major territorial breakthroughs have yet been made, it added, but Russian troops continue to attack in the populated Kharkiv and Kherson regions.
Russian forces made minor advances in the ongoing offensive in eastern Ukraine on April 19, seizing several small towns and advancing into the key frontline towns of Rubizhne and Popasna.
Russian forces continued major assaults with heavy air and artillery support but are continuing to build the logistics and command-and-control capabilities necessary for a larger offensive.
Russian forces have not achieved any major breakthroughs, nor have they demonstrated any new capability to conduct multiple successful, simultaneous advances.
Russian forces additionally made grinding progress against remaining Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol’s Azovstal Steel Works and announced plans for a May 9 Victory Day parade in the city – indicating Russian forces will declare victory in Mariupol by that date at the latest.
Meanwhile, infamous Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov said he believed Russian troops would have complete control of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Thursday.
"Before lunchtime, or after lunch, Azovstal will be completely under the control of the forces of the Russian Federation," Kadyrov said.
Kadyrov is the president of the Chechen Republic, an autonomous unit of the Russian Federation located in the northern Caucasus. Russia has made use of Chechen fighters in its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops have been hunkered down in the steelworks in the besieged port city for weeks but have been complaining that they're running low on ammunition and key supplies. One commander said on Wednesday that his marines were "maybe facing [their] last days, if not hours."
Russia had issued another call for the city's defenders to surrender and offered a ceasefire to evacuate civilians on Wednesday, with Ukraine instead calling for a special round of talks with no preconditions in the city.
