Source: Xinhuanet
The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement on the 20th saying that with the surrender of the last batch of Ukrainian armed personnel trapped in the Mariupol Azov Steel Plant, the Russian army has completely controlled the city of Mariupol.
Analysts pointed out that fully grasping the control of Mariupol, a strategic city, is of great significance to Russia and may help Russia accelerate its military operations in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. On the other hand, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have stalled, and the United States and its allies continue to increase their political support and military aid to Ukraine. It is unpredictable when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will end.
is of great significance
Since Russia announced the launch of a special military operation in Ukraine, Mariupol has been the key target of the Russian army. Russia and Ukraine have fought fiercely around this place for more than two months.
On May 20, a bus carrying Ukrainian armed personnel left Mariupol. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Viktor)
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov said on the 20th that since the 16th, a total of 2,439 Ukrainian armed personnel besieged at the Azov Steel Plant have surrendered. Russian Defense Minister Shoigu has reported to President Putin that the Russian army has completely controlled the Azov Steel Plant and the city of Mariupol.
Mariupol is an important port city along the Azov coast in southeastern Ukraine. The capture of Mariupol means that the Russian army has built a passage connecting Crimea and Donbass and then heading to Russia's inland, which will undoubtedly be of great benefit to Russia's subsequent military operations.
Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Russian Higher University of Economics, said that gaining control of Mariupol was a major military progress made by the Russian army. Mariupol is an important defense center of the Ukrainian army. Complete control of the city will free up a large amount of troops for Russian military operations in other regions. The Russian army will be able to complete reorganization and merger with civilian armed forces in the Donbas area and accelerate the completion of special military operations in the Donbas area.
Mariupol is of great significance to the Ukrainian economy. Bondalenko, chairman of the Ukrainian Political Foundation, said that Mariupol has both an important port and the location of an important metallurgical plant in Ukraine. The metallurgy industry is an important source of foreign exchange in Ukraine, and the loss of Mariupol is a serious blow to Ukrainian economy.
In addition, the "Azov Camp" stationed in Mariupol is a nationalist militant in the eyes of Russia, so occupying the place is of crucial significance to Russia's completion of the "de-Nazization" in the established goals of special military operations.
conflict is hard to stop
Although the battle surrounding Mariupol has ended, it is still unpredictable when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will end. According to Ukrainian media reports, Ukraine will face a difficult situation in the next few weeks.
According to the Ukrainian National News Agency on the 20th, the war situation in eastern Ukraine was fierce and showed signs of deterioration. The Russian army launched a fierce attack on the entire military contact line, with the main target being the Ukrainian army surrounding Lisichangsk and North Donetsk in the western part of the Luhansk region.
On May 20, a bus carrying Ukrainian militants arrived at the town of Orenivka controlled by the Russian army. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Victor)
On the other hand, before the end of the Mariupol battle, the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were stagnant. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on the 17th that Ukraine has actually withdrawn from the negotiation process. On the same day, Podolak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said that the Ukrainian negotiation process has been suspended.
Tokarev, chief researcher at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow Institute of International Relations, believes that the Russian army, which has been vacated from Mariupol, can focus its main energy on the Donbas region in the future. As for whether Ukraine can force the Ukraine to return to negotiations and give Russia a more favorable position in the negotiations, it depends on the progress of the Russian military's subsequent military operations.
At the same time, the United States and its Western allies continue to increase military and economic assistance to Ukraine, adding fuel to the fire in the Ukraine situation. US President Biden signed a $40 billion aid bill on the 21st, and the White House is still considering providing advanced anti-ship missiles to the Ukrainian army. In addition, the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, which ended in Germany on the 20th, reached an agreement on further aid to Ukraine, that the G7 will add US$9.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine.
Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at the Russian Higher School of Economics, said that NATO, led by the United States, provided a lot of assistance to Ukraine and continuously provided heavy weapons to Ukraine, aiming to delay the military conflict with Russia as much as possible. In addition, the recent "European Defender 2022" and "Rapid Response 2022" exercises held by NATO and other actions to win over Finland and Sweden into the engagement will intensify the confrontation between Russia and NATO and further increase regional security risks.
(Reporter Geng Pengyu Huanghe participated in reporter: Li Dongxu)
(Source: Xinhuanet)
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