Russia's 'Somalia' battalion greeted with flags & flowers in Donetsk post Mariupol victory

Russia’s ‘Somalia’ battalion, the separatist military unit of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in Ukraine, was greeted with flags and flowers in Donetsk as they arrived from Mariupol. Russia claimed on Thursday that it had captured the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the transfer of Mariupol under the control of the Armed Forces of Russia. 

Even Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to claim victory in the strategic port of Mariupol while ordering his troops not to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance. Russian troops had besieged the southeastern city since the early days of the conflict and largely pulverised it — and top officials have repeatedly indicated that it was about to fall. Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant, and Russian forces pounded the industrial site entering the final defence phase. 

Putin said that, for now, he would not risk sending troops into the warren of tunnels under the giant Azovstal plant but instead will have it sealed  "so that not even a fly comes through." Putin painted the mission to take Mariupol already a success and said that the city had been "liberated," but militarily until the plant falls, he cannot declare a complete victory. Russian officials now say that capturing the Donbas, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland is the war's main goal. 

UK claims Russia wants to contain resistance by blocking Azovstal plant

UK Defence Ministry has released its latest intelligence update about the ongoing situation in the war-torn nation. Taking to their official Twitter handle, the UK Defence Ministry stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to blockade the Azovstal steel plant likely indicates a desire to contain Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol and free up Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine. "A full ground assault by Russia on the plant would likely incur significant Russian casualties, further decreasing their overall combat effectiveness," the ministry claimed.

Image: AP