By Dr Rene Tebel
Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday April 21, 2022, told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Mariupol has been captured, according to reports by Russian media.
According to the reports, Russia has surrounded the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol -- a steel plant with underground corridors where more than two thousand Ukrainian soldiers are still hiding. Russia has limited itself to cordoning off the industrial area. "We don't need to go into these catacombs and crawl underground over these industrial facilities there. Block off this industrial zone so that a fly doesn't fly through," Putin is quoted saying by RIA Novosti.
According to the Russian defense minister, the number of Ukrainian defenders in the city on March 11 was about 8,100 soldiers. Half have been killed, he said, and 1,478 soldiers have surrendered. Reportedly five Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) were involved in storming the city, which now lies in ruins.
