VSHow long will the war in Ukraine last? For the regional governor of Mariupol, the future of this armed conflict will depend on the fate of this strategic port city, almost entirely under the control of Moscow. “The success of the Russian offensive in the South depends on the fate of Mariupol”, declared Pavlo Kyrylenko, in an interview with Agence France-Presse on Friday April 22, judging this city “strategic” for the Ukrainians in their defense of the region, and for the Russians in their desire to provide a land bridge to annexed Crimea.
For its part, the Russian army said it was ready to observe “at any time” a truce on all or part of the industrial site of Azovstal, the last bastion of Ukrainian forces from Mariupol, to allow the evacuation of civilians. and the surrender of combatants. It assures that evacuated civilians will have the choice of joining territories under Ukrainian or Russian control, and that Ukrainian soldiers will be well treated and that the wounded will be cared for.
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According to the Russian president, kyiv would refuse the surrender of the last Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in this industrial zone of Azovstal. “The life of all Ukrainian servicemen, nationalist fighters and foreign mercenaries is guaranteed if they lay down their arms. But the kyiv regime does not allow this possibility, ”said the Russian head of state, according to a Kremlin statement summarizing a telephone exchange with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The latter asked the Russian president to guarantee humanitarian corridors in Mariupol, on the occasion of the Orthodox Easter.
“War crimes”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described the possibility that the war in Ukraine will last until the end of 2023 as “realistic”. Asked at a press conference in New Delhi about such a timetable, he replied: “It’s a realistic possibility, yes of course Putin has a huge army, he made a catastrophic mistake and the only option he has now is to keep trying to use his approach appalling, artillery-based attempt to crush the Ukrainians. »
Gathered in Geneva for a briefing on the war in Ukraine, the UN used the term “war crimes” to describe certain acts of the Russian army, including indiscriminate bombardments killing civilians and destroying schools and hospitals. “The Russian armed forces indiscriminately bombarded and shelled populated areas, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, all actions that could amount to war crimes”, declared Ravina Shamdasani. , spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
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A land bridge to Crimea
Regarding the investigations in Boutcha, the UN documented the murder, including some by summary execution, of 50 civilians in this city located on the outskirts of kyiv. The British police have received around fifty reports of possible war crimes, elements that can be used to feed the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC). At the same time, Russia continued its offensive in southern Ukraine on Friday morning, with the aim of taking full control of it, as in the eastern region of Donbass to have a land bridge to annexed Crimea. by Moscow.
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