Russian forces launched another assault Thursday on holdout fighters at the Azovstal steelwork plant in Mariupol, a city that is key to President Vladimir Putin’s push to put southeastern Ukraine under his control.
Moscow denied breaching the plant, but a Ukrainian commander, Lt. Col. Denys Prokopenko, cited “heavy, bloody battles” in the plant’s subterranean bunkers and fallout shelters, according to The New York Times.
The surrounding city has been destroyed, and analysts think Mr. Putin is pushing for a major victory before the May 9 Victory Day holiday.
There are fears Mr. Putin will use the occasion to elevate the conflict, centered on regions in the east, into a broader war on its neighbor.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday that forces in Belarus, an ally to Russia, are conducting exercises, but they are not unusual, given seasonal patterns.
However, the presence of forces could be a distraction for Ukraine.
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“Russia will likely seek to inflate the threat posed to Ukraine by these exercises in order to fix Ukrainian forces in the North, preventing them from being committed to the battle for the Donbas,” the British ministry tweeted.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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