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Military operation in Ukraine

Three main centers of resistance remain in Mariupol, says DPR militia official

Eduard Basurin also noted that DPR forces currently control about 33-35% of the Maryinka settlement

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Three main centers of resistance remain in the city of Mariupol, Deputy Chief of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin told Channel One on Friday.

"Mariupol is completely blocked. There are three main centers of resistance, which include the downtown district, Azovstal and the port area," he specified.

According to Basurin, DPR forces currently control about 33-35% of the Maryinka settlement. "The settlement was well fortified by military engineers, so progress is slow, besides, civilians remain there as Ukrainian troops did not let them leave," he added.

"There are no plans for a head-on attack in the Avdeyevka area, troops are bypassing the settlement," the DPR militia official went on to say. "There is a need to overcome multi-layered defenses, which took years to strengthen, particularly by pouring concrete, this is what we are dealing with and this is why things have been difficult," Basurin stressed.

Tensions escalated along the line of contact in Donbass on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported the heaviest shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in months. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders.

On February 24, Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry stressed that the Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no threat to civilians.

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Ukraine Military operation in Ukraine

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