In this world, no one knows what will happen tomorrow, especially the international situation. On February 24, many people did not expect that Putin would soon order a special military operation against Ukraine. What is even less surprising is that when Russia captured Mariupol, it only took 37 days to capture the Azov Steel Plant. On April 13, the Ukrainian army abandoned all positions in Mariupol and moved into the bunker at the Azov Steel Plant to resist.
However, this steel plant, which covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers and has a total length of underground passages of more than 24 kilometers, was full of strong military overtones from the beginning of its construction. It has the defense capabilities to deal with nuclear bombing and urban assault, and has a "rebar maze" and "underground fortress". The Russian army tried to persuade the Ukrainian troops to surrender twice, hoping that the Ukrainian troops in the steel plant would lay down their weapons, but they were rejected both times. When persuading them to surrender failed, the Russian army used heavy weapons bombing, but a week later, Putin stopped the storm plan and changed it to a siege. On May 20, after a month of siege, all the Ukrainian troops trapped in the steel plant walked out of their underground bunkers and surrendered to the Russian troops. This marked the end of the longest and bloodiest Battle of Mariupol in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. sentence.
Currently, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has reached a deadlock, but no one thought that Putin would actually give Azov Camp a break. According to foreign media, when the Azov Steel Plant defenders surrendered collectively, Russia threatened that Azov battalion soldiers who had committed war crimes would be "brought to justice." However, according to information disclosed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russia and Ukraine recently conducted a large-scale prisoner exchange, including 43 Azov Battalion soldiers. The Donetsk civilian armed forces also confirmed the news, saying that Russia exchanged 144 defenders of the Azov Steel Plant for collective surrender in exchange for 144 Russian soldiers captured by the Ukrainian army. Some analysts pointed out that during the Russian army's siege of the steel plant, some Azov battalion soldiers tried to surrender, but were once blocked by the Ukrainian army. Therefore, this time the Russian army probably released those Azov Battalion soldiers who planned to surrender during the siege.
It is worth mentioning that on June 30, the Russian military suddenly announced that it had withdrawn its troops from Snake Island , saying that this move was a release of goodwill and proved to the world that Russia did not prevent Ukraine from exporting food through the Black Sea , nor did it prevent the United Nations from establishing humanitarian corridors. Putin said that the food supply chain in Europe is at risk of breaking, and the main culprit is Western sanctions and blockades against Russia. Putin said that in order to meet the global food supply, Russia is willing to increase its exports of agricultural products. Now, the Russian army has proactively announced its withdrawal from Snake Island, and Ukraine can smoothly export food from here. From now on, whether the European food crisis can be solved has nothing to do with Russia. It will not be so easy for the West to use this to smear and slander Russia.
In fact, the Russian army occupied Snake Island on the day the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out. Since then, the Ukrainian army has repeatedly tried to recapture the island under Zelensky's order. The Russian and Ukrainian armies launched a fierce battle for this, but in the end It was still firmly under the control of the Russian army. From a geographical point of view, Snake Island guards the gateway from Odessa to the Black Sea and is known as the "doorbolt of Odessa". Controlling Snake Island is equivalent to controlling shipping in the northwest waters of the Black Sea. As early as the Soviet period, as an air defense outpost in the Crimea region, the island had deployed air defense systems and coastal surveillance systems. For the Russian army, occupying Snake Island means that it can use it as a springboard to directly land in Odessa amphibiously, and that it can use this island as a barrier to conduct maritime operations in the Black Sea when retreating. However, since Snake Island only covers an area of 0.17 square kilometers and is obviously easy to attack and difficult to defend. Under such circumstances, Russia's announcement to withdraw its troops naturally has security considerations, but it is more to release goodwill.
You must know that once Russia has tactical needs, it is not difficult to regain control of Snake Island. Some observers believe that Putin is adjusting his tactics and may be preparing to give up the capture of Odessa in order to concentrate on controlling the eastern Ukraine region.For Russia, the most unfavorable news is that Finland and Sweden have decided to join NATO . Putin's attitude is that if it rains and his mother wants to marry, let him do it. However, he has drawn an insurmountable red line, that is, NATO is not allowed to deploy weapons and establish military bases in Finland and Sweden, otherwise Russia will be forced to respond. For Putin, this is also a no-brainer, because once the Russian army is caught in a two-front battle, it may be unable to withstand it.
As the saying goes, he who knows the current affairs is a hero, and temporarily holding back his punch is to punch better. According to the latest reports from Russian media, Indonesian President Jokowi handed over Zelensky’s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 30. Joko visited Ukraine before and met with Zelensky. Joko said after the meeting that he suggested that Zelensky send a letter to Putin and was willing to help the leaders of the two countries communicate. According to foreign media reports, this year's g20 summit will be held in Indonesia in November, and the heads of Russia and Ukraine may meet. Although the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, no one wants the conflict to continue indefinitely. It now appears that both Russia and Ukraine intend to cool down the conflict, at least not wanting the conflict to continue to escalate. Next, it depends on how the United States and Europe take action to disrupt the situation.
