The leader of the self-declared separatist region in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, says he expects his troops to surround the port city of Mariupol on Tuesday. — was almost completely surrounded.
“Our job for today is to surround Mariupol,” he said.
Pushilin claimed without providing any evidence that nationalist elements in Mariupol were terrorizing the civilian population and using it as human shields. The city has about 400,000 inhabitants.
Separately, the deputy head of the Donetsk People’s Militia, Eduard Basurin, said the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), along with Russian forces, would organize humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to leave Mariupol.
The corridors would be open through Wednesday, he said.
Basurin said several towns in the region were already in the hands of the DPR militia.
Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of Mariupol, said on Ukrainian television that residential areas had been shelled for five days with heavy artillery, rockets and aircraft.
“There are many injured, dead local residents, women, children.”
“But today the best sons of their homeland on the borders of our city are doing everything they can not to give Mariupol away,” said Boichenko.
“They have destroyed important infrastructure, there is no electricity in the city, there is no heat. we fight over [the] last bullet.”
