Why Maraupolis is “Stalingrad” of the war in Ukraine

Marioupol was home to 565,000 people. It's gone. It has become a war zone, the center of fierce clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Eighty percent of the city's houses have been damaged, and more than a thousand people are trapped in the shelter of the bombed theater.

Officials in Marioupol say more than 2,500 people have lost their lives since Russian forces attacked on February 24th, while 35,000 managed to flee the city. Satellite images from American Maxar Technology indicate the damage the city has suffered from ruthless bombings.

Before the Russian occupation, it was also the centre of the Greek community in the area. The town has hundreds of working class residential buildings, identical style and a large beach. In Greek villages scattered around the city, houses are painted whiteblu, made by Greeks coming from Crimea, in September 1778, with the promotion of Kythnos Ignatius' Mitrovici.

Marioupol has a port in the Azov Sea and two of the biggest steel factories in Europe. It's only 20 miles from Russia. But it is not the vicinity of Russia that has targeted it from the beginning. The conquest of Marioupolis was a precondition for implementing the Russian plan for connecting Crime to Russian territory. Furthermore, Marioupol is an important strategic port at Azov.

If Mariupol “bie”, the Russians will have full control of the Azov Sea and its ports, as they will create a land zone between Crime and Donbas, which is already controlled by pro-Russian separatists. This was the Russian forces' plan from the beginning, which is at an advanced point, as Marioupolis is already surrounded.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced that it is “inflamming the lku” around the city. Russian ministry claims were confirmed for the BBC by Mayor Vadim Boichenko. “Occuparies did so in part in the Donetsk operational zone, temporarily deprived Ukraine of access to the Azov” Sea, Ukraine's Defence Ministry said in a statement.

In a statement Saturday evening, President Volodimyr Zelenski accused Moscow of war crimes and said the horrors Marioupolis has been experiencing will be remembered for centuries.

“Blokada in Marioupol will go into history for the responsibility of war crimes. To do this to a peaceful city is a terror that will be remembered for the centuries to come. The more Ukrainians tell the world about this, the more support they will get from”, Zelensky said.

There are reports that thousands of Marioupolis residents have been forcibly sent to Russia, but reporting news from the isolated city is difficult. Arlam sirens were activated nearly all regions of Ukraine on Sunday, including Kiev, Odessa and Kharkivin, following an offensive setback the previous day, when the Russian army focused on refueling and repairing damaged vehicles.

The Ministry of Defence in Great Britain said Moscow had failed to take over air control and was relying on weapons issued by its territory. For the second day in a row, Russia admits it has used hypersonic weapons against Ukrainian military targets.