The British military believes Russia wants to take the port city of Mariupol and its vast steel mill before its marks Victory Day on Monday, the British Defense Ministry said Friday in a daily intelligence briefing on Twitter.
The Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has been the scene of weeks of fighting. It has a vast network of underground bomb shelters shielding fighters and civilians from Russian bombardment, though the site has been repeatedly struck by high-explosive bombs.
The British military said that the renewed effort by Russia to secure Azovstal and complete the capture of Mariupol is likely linked to the upcoming May 9 Victory Day commemorations and Russian President Vladimir Putin's "desire to have a symbolic success in Ukraine.”
"This effort has come at personnel, equipment and munitions cost to Russia. Whilst Ukrainian resistance continues in Azovstal, Russian losses will continue to build and frustrate their operational plans in southern Donbass,” it added.
Victory Day marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
In his nightly video address Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described a "catastrophic” lack of access to medical services and medicine in areas of the country under Russian occupation.
In those areas, he said almost no treatment was available for those suffering from cancer and that insulin for diabetics was difficult to find or nonexistent. He said antibiotics were in short supply.
Zelenskyy also said that during the course of the war, the Russian military has already fired 2,014 missiles on Ukraine, while 2,682 flights of Russian warplanes have been recorded in Ukrainian skies. He said the destroyed or damaged infrastructure includes nearly 400 hospitals and other medical facilities.
