Notable events in Mariupol, April 21st
A quick-and-dirty briefing on selected top headlines out of the Ukraine war
Interesting mix of stories around the Mariupol siege this morning.
Putin claimed victory in Mariupol today in a rare televised press conference with Shoygu. Rather than storming the Azovstal plant, Russian troops are to establish a blockade “so that not even a fly comes through.”
Three sources on this:
Schreck, Adam, "Putin claims victory in Mariupol but won’t storm steel plant", AP via San Jose Mercury News, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/04/21/putin-claims-victory-in-mariupol-but-wont-storm-steel-plant/
Cavanagh, Niamh, "Russia claims to have 'liberated' Mariupol after weeks of bombardment", Yahoo! News, Apr 21, 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/russia-claims-to-have-liberated-mariupol-after-weeks-of-bombardment-123655536.html
NBC News, "Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Putin claims Mariupol 'success,' tells forces not to storm last stronghold", NBC News Live Updates, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/russia-ukraine-war-live-updates-putin-mariupol-storm-azovstal-steel-rcna25315
This is after the video from Mariupol under siege, from the commander of the Ukrainian 36th Separate Marine Brigade - not an Azov guy, by the way - asking for safe passage out of the combat zone.
Here's two sources:
Stern, David L., Francis, Ellen, and Masih, Niha, "Mariupol fighters ‘dying underground’ at steel plant, commander says", Washington Post, Apr 20, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/20/ukraine-mariupol-commander-azovstal-fight/
Chen, Shawna, ""Commander of Mariupol's last stronghold: "We will not lay down our weapons"", Axios, Apr 20, 2022, https://www.axios.com/mariupol-commander-russia-invasion-fb3375f5-7d0f-432c-acbd-ba7697591279.html
And the original video: https://www.facebook.com/serjvlk/posts/3268353776825125
Meanwhile, a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor, Vanda Semyonovna Obiedkova, has died in the Mariupol siege, on April 4th. Multiple major outlets are carrying this story:
Pannett, Rachel, "91-year-old Jewish survivor of Nazi-occupied Mariupol dies during Russian siege", Washington Post, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/21/ukraine-mariupol-holocaust-survivor-dies-russia/
Belam, Martin, "Ukrainian Holocaust survivor, 91, dies during Mariupol siege", The Guardian, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/ukrainian-holocaust-survivor-91-dies-during-mariupol-siege
BBC, "Ukraine war: Holocaust survivor aged 91 among Mariupol's civilian dead - reports", BBC Europe, Apr 20, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61165270
And satellite images reveal new mass graves being dug near Mariupol.
Knutson, Jacob, "Satellite images show mass grave in Ukrainian town near Mariupol", Axios, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.axios.com/satellite-images-mass-grave-manhush-ukraine-34c943d0-580c-4680-b3c8-cccff1ad54cf.html
Reuters, "Satellite images show mass grave near Mariupol, Maxar says", Reuters, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/satellite-images-show-mass-grave-near-mariupol-maxar-says-2022-04-21/
Cohen, Rebecca, "Satellite images reveal mass graves outside Mariupol as Russian forces level the city", Business Insider, Apr 21, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/satellite-images-show-mass-graves-outside-mariupol-russia-assault-2022-4