Russia Accelerates Advance into Mariupol... Fierce Urban Fighting Underway

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Russian forces are intensifying their offensive to capture Mariupol, a strategic stronghold and port city in southeastern Ukraine.

According to foreign media on the 19th (local time), Russian troops and pro-Russian separatist forces have entered the city center of Mariupol, engaging in fierce urban warfare with Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian authorities stated that on this day, Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of the Mariupol Azovstal steel plant, one of the largest metallurgical factories in Europe, resulting in the destruction of most of the plant's facilities.

Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, said in an interview with the BBC, "Our troops are doing everything they can, but unfortunately, the enemy's numbers are greater than ours."

As intense fighting continues, rescue efforts for civilians trapped in the rubble of the Mariupol theater, destroyed by Russian airstrikes on the 16th, are facing difficulties. Ukrainian authorities reported rescuing about 130 people from the site after the airstrike, but Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine's parliamentary human rights commissioner, said, "It is estimated that about 1,300 people remain inside the collapsed theater building."

Russian forces have been besieging Mariupol for three weeks, concentrating bombardment to capture the city that connects the pro-Russian separatist-controlled Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk provinces) in eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014. Not only military facilities but also civilian buildings such as hospitals, churches, and apartment complexes have been indiscriminately bombed, causing numerous casualties and turning the entire city into ruins.

Mariupol authorities claim that 2,500 civilians have lost their lives since the outbreak of the war. According to Mariupol officials, 40,000 citizens fled the city to escape Russian attacks over the past five days, and 20,000 are waiting to evacuate.

Before the humanitarian corridor was agreed upon by Russian and Ukrainian forces on the 14th, allowing civilian evacuation from Mariupol, the number of civilians remaining in the city was estimated to be around 350,000.

The Washington Post reported, "As Russian forces advance deeper into the city, it appears that Ukrainian forces are losing control over Mariupol."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.