Russian President Vladimir Putin has called off the assault on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the last location in that city still in the hands of Ukrainian forces. The plant doubles as a massive fortress, with a labyrinth of underground tunnels built to withstand a nuclear strike and a garrison of battle-hardened troops from the Azov Battalion. Putin has decided to seal off the facility “so that a fly cannot not pass through” and wait for starvation to flush out the defenders.
Putin decides to starve out Azovstal defenders
Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu have claimed that their victory in Mariupol is complete outside of the massive industrial facility.
Shoigu claims that as many as 2,000 men are still in Azovstal, which has become the last citadel in Mariupol for the Ukrainians with the collapse of defenses elsewhere in the city.
Both the Russians and the Ukrainians inside the plant have suggested that time is running out for the defenders, but Putin claims that continuing the assault would be a needless waste of Russian lives.
Instead, Russian forces have been instructed to surround the facility and seal off every possible exit until the Ukrainians are forced to surrender. Putin promised to provide fair treatment and medical attention to those who give themselves up.
The Azov Battalion and other Ukrainians present have already rejected several ultimatums. Most of the forces defending Mariupol have been killed or captured , though some smaller groups of marines did manage to fight their way through Russian lines to join up with Azov at the steel plant.
The state of supplies in Azovstal is unknown, but stores of food and ammunition were running low even before the survivors fell back to the facility to make their last stand.
Azov Battalion and other Ukrainians hold on in Mariupol
When Vladimir Putin talks about Nazis in Ukraine he is referring to the Azov Battalion. This elite regiment is by far the best known unit of the Ukrainian armed forces and by far the most feared.
The unit is not officially a national socialist formation, but everyone acknowledges that a large portion of its membership is of that persuasion. Other recruits are simply attracted by their fearsome reputation and international notoriety.
Their role in the current war has been wildly disproportionate to their relatively limited numbers, and fighters not formally associated with the unit are likely adopting their name and iconography in other parts of the country.
The men holed up in Azovstal have shown little interest in any deal with the Russians that involves them handing over their weapons, and Kiev has insisted that it can still retake Mariupol.
While they remain in the steel plant Putin can only claim to have mostly taken Mariupol; complete victory requires the capture of the facility.
For Russian soldiers, the announcement must be a relief as it has saved them from days of bitter fighting in underground tunnels. For the Ukrainians, the knowledge that Putin intends to starve them out rather than storm the plant only ensures a different kind of misery.