Russian Forces Push Into Center of Besieged Mariupol

[bluewater]

Source: NY Times

Live Updates: Fighting Moves Into Center of Mariupol; War Displaces 1 in 5 Ukrainians

After weeks of Russian troops' encircling and shelling the strategic coastal city, tank battles raged on its city streets on Saturday. In eastern and southern Ukraine, millions have fled or are cut off from humanitarian aid.



...
As the battle for the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol has moved into the center of the city, with tank battles raging on Saturday after weeks of devastating missile barrages, the United Nations estimates that one in five people in Ukraine have been internally displaced or have fled the country since Russia’s invasion began.

The speed at which the humanitarian catastrophe has spread reflects the vast destruction unleashed by Russian forces on civilian targets. In Mariupol, which has held out for weeks amid such a brutal assault, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said on Friday, “There is no chance for lifting the siege of Mariupol.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/

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[SheltieLover]

1. ...

[machoneman]

2. Russians engaged in city tank battles are stupid!. Easy to shoot them with anti-tank missiles, land

mines, Molotov cocktails and more. I'll bet the lead soldiers, a must to eliminate tank weaponry, are getting killed by the score by Uke snipers. Guess the new army never saw pics and movies on street fighting in Stalingrad and later Berlin in WWII. Horrific losses I'll bet.

[orangecrush]

7. +1

[bucolic_frolic]

3. This whole thing is so totally barbaric

[Sapient Donkey]

6. I don't think taking cities with active resistance has ever been anything but barbaric

Can't really do it without destroying most of the city. In this case all the destruction and death is on the Russians, because in the end they are aggressors waging a war choice.

Looking for a silver lining, perhaps this will give the American (or other western countries) population pause before starting our own needless wars like we did in Iraq. I don't think the US public has much appetite for needless wars these days, but who knows where we'll be in 15 or 20 years. Can point back to what's happening in Ukraine and ask people if they really want us to be invaders.

[Chainfire]

4. City centers are where armies go to die.

Rubble makes for great defensive concealment and cover. The value of air, artillery and tanks evaporates and it becomes a one on one fight, where morale counts more than weapons.

[ancianita]

5. Emboldened by the new hypersonic missile escalation. They're supplied by humanitarian

corridor supplies they stole, and are forcing displacement. They should be attacked mercilessly.