Despite Moscow's announcement on Wednesday to freeze operations around Kyiv and focus on the Donbas region (in the east), the British Ministry of Defense clarified in a statement on Thursday that Russian forces are still holding their positions in the east and west of Kyiv, despite a limited withdrawal of some units. It added that "intense fighting is likely to erupt in the suburbs of the capital in the coming days."
**Intense Fighting in Mariupol**
Regarding the coastal city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, military intelligence denied reports of a ceasefire, confirming that fierce fighting continues in the strategically important city, which has been besieged by Russian forces for several days. It noted that "Ukrainian forces still control the city center," despite Russian advances in surrounding towns and villages. For several weeks, Russian troops have been encircling Kyiv without any progress, and the Russian Ministry of Defense announced yesterday the cessation of operations there and a focus on the Donbas. However, the U.S. Department of Defense expressed skepticism about this announcement, explaining that it is merely a repositioning of Russian troops around Kyiv.
Russia is heavily bombarding Mariupol, which has recently drawn global attention, while Ukrainian authorities warn of catastrophic conditions. Vadym Boychenko, the mayor of the coastal city, alerted days ago that it is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster, calling for the complete evacuation of its residents, and emphasized that about 160,000 civilians are trapped inside, without electricity or sufficient food.
**Strategic Objective**
It is noted that around 2,000 civilians have been killed in Mariupol, according to a recent toll announced by the city's municipality, after several attempts to establish a safe evacuation route for civilians failed amidst mutual accusations between the parties of violating the ceasefire. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, blaming Ukraine for the repeated failures to agree on opening safe corridors to evacuate the trapped. Since the start of what Moscow described as a limited military operation on February 24, Mariupol, overlooking the Sea of Azov, has formed a strategic objective for Moscow, particularly as capturing it would enable the connection of Russian-backed separatist-controlled areas in the east with the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
