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Mariupol’s liberation to be finalized after mop-up operation at industrialized sites — DPR

Earlier, the Chechen Head announced that the city of Mariupol in Donbass was 98% liberated, and the Ukrainian side was retaining only separate strongholds

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Russia’s military special operation to liberate the city of Mariupol is nearing its end, however, there are still problems remaining with mopping up industrial sites, Deputy Head of the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin said on Friday.

"On the whole, the operation to mop out this city [Mariupol] is nearing its completion, but there are some problems remaining in regard to industrial sites, but they would be eventually solved," Basurin said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One television channel.

"We are moving towards the north," Basurin continued. "Our troops currently mop up the areas of the Maryinka location and proceed further between the locations of Avdeyevka and Gorlovka."

Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov announced earlier in the day that the city of Mariupol in Donbass was 98% liberated, and the Ukrainian side was retaining only separate strongholds.

Kadyrov wrote in his Telegram that "The Banderites are retaining only separate fortified facilities, including the Azovstal factory, which the Nazis have turned into a true fortress."

"I communicated with our brothers via a video link-up, introduced my proposals into the plan of action and wished the fighters luck and success," Kadyrov stated on his Telegram account earlier in the day.

Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years."

The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories and the operation was aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine.

When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.

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