Russia scrambles to complete conquest
Russian forces kept up their barrage of southern Ukraine yesterday, hitting the Black Sea port of Odesa with cruise missiles and bombarding the steelworks up the coast in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters remained trapped underground after the last civilians were brought out to safety.
Moscow was aiming to complete its conquest of Mariupol in time for Victory Day celebrations today. But it was facing stiff resistance elsewhere.
In a sign of the unexpectedly effective defence that has sustained the fighting into its 11th week, Ukraine’s military flattened Russian positions on a Black Sea island that was captured in the war’s first days and has become a symbol of resistance.
Western military analysts also said a Ukrainian counteroffensive was advancing around the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Ukraine’s military said retreating Russian forces destroyed three bridges northeast of the city to try to slow the Ukrainian advance.
The largest European conflict since World War II has developed into a punishing war of attrition that has killed thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and destroyed large swaths of cities.
Ukrainian leaders warned that attacks would only worsen in the lead-up to Victory Day, when Russia celebrates Nazi Germany’s defeat in 1945 with military parades. Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to want to proclaim some kind of triumph in Ukraine when he addresses the troops on Red Square today.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his people ‘‘embody the spirit of those who prevailed during World War II.’’ He accused Putin of trying ‘‘to twist history to attempt to justify his unprovoked and brutal war’’.
‘‘As war again rages in Europe, we must increase our resolve to resist those who now seek to manipulate historical memory in order to advance their own ambitions,’’ Blinken said in a statement as the US and Britain commemorate the Allied victory in Europe.
The most intense fighting in recent days has been in eastern Ukraine, where the two sides battle to capture or reclaim territory. Moscow’s offensive there has focused on the Donbas, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014.
Moscow also has sought to sweep across southern Ukraine both to cut off the country from the sea and create a corridor to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, long home to Russian troops. But it has struggled to achieve those objectives.
Yesterday, six Russian cruise missiles fired from aircraft hit Odesa, where a curfew is in place until today. Videos showed thick black smoke rising over the Black Sea port city as sirens wailed.