This is a desperate cry for help. “We may be living our last days, even our last hours”, said Wednesday, April 20 a commander of Ukrainian soldiers besieged in Mariupol. Moscow, which launched its offensive in eastern Ukraine the day before, has sworn to take control of the strategic port in the south-east of the country, which would allow it to make the connection between Crimea, annexed in 2014 , and the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donbass.
“The enemy is ten times more numerous than us”said Serguiy Volyna, of the 36th brigade of the national navy, on Facebook. “We call on and beg all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the extraction procedure and take us to the territory of a third country.” Follow our live.
“At least a thousand civilians” entrenched in Mariupol. Russia claims to have opened a corridor supposed to allow Ukrainian forces who have decided to surrender to leave Mariupol. In this city where the authorities fear the death of 20,000 to 22,000 civilians, the fighting is concentrated around the Azovstal metallurgical complex. Ukrainian fighters are entrenched there, but also “at least a thousand civilians, mostly women, children and the elderly, in the underground shelters” of the plant, according to the Mariupol City Council. On Tuesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his call for the evacuation of civilians still present in the city.
The offensive in the east of the country launched. “The new phase of the special operation begins in Ukraine”, announced Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister. Dozens of strikes have been carried out since Monday evening in the Donbass region. The fights “are incessant” in several cities, “it’s hell”, said the Ukrainian governor of the Lugansk region, Sergiï Gaïdaï, calling on the inhabitants to flee.
Westerners are stepping up their military support for Ukraine. The Pentagon announced a delivery of fighter jets to Ukraineas well as spare parts. kyiv is asking its Western partners for the Mig-29s that its soldiers already know how to fly, and which a handful of Eastern European countries have. After the shipment of Howitzer artillery pieces announced last week by US President Joe Biden, this announcement reflects a change in attitude on the part of Westerners, who for more than a month refused to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons, to avoid any escalation of the conflict.