Russia/DPR Forces Storm Seaport in Accelerating Advance

DISCLOSURE: Sourced from Russian government funded media

FULL DISCLOSURE: Sourced from Russian State-Controlled Media

SouthFront: The Russian military and the armed forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have accelerated their advance in the city of Mariupol.

On April 8, Russian and DPR forces made a significant breakthrough. With minimum firepower, the forces managed to storm the seaport of Mariupol, which was one of the key strongholds of Ukrainian troops, Azov nationalists, and foreign mercenaries.

After seizing most of the port, DPR forces began evacuating the crews of the civilian vessels which were stuck there. Since February, sailors from different countries, including citizens of Ukraine, were held hostage by the Azov nationalists and were used by Ukrainian troops as human shields.

While retreating from the seaport, the remnants of Ukrainian troops and nationalists seized two foreign vessels. Holding the crews of these vessels hostage, the Azov nationalists began firing from the decks with 120 mm mortars, various types of grenade launchers, and small arms.

While some Ukrainian troops and nationalists are still trying to hold onto the port, others are trying to flee by sea.

On April 9, the Russian military foiled an attempt by Ukrainian troops to break the Mariupol siege on the Maltese-flagged Apache dry-cargo ship. The attempt was foiled and the ship was captured along with its crew.

The recent operations of Russian and DPR forces in Mariupol were not limited to the city’s port. As of April 11, almost all residential areas in the city were moped up. Several hotspots of Ukrainian resistance left in the Primorskiy district, where street fighting continues along the main avenue, and in the central districts of the city.

On April 10, the DPR flag was raised over the Mariupol city administration building. The DPR flags are already waving over the Kalmius and Left-Bank districts of the city.

Currently, most of the remaining Ukrainian troops, Azov nationalists, and foreign mercenaries in Mariupol are besieged at the Azovstal steel plant and the Ilyich factory.

While Mariupol remains one of the hottest front lines in Donbass, fierce clashes continue on the other fronts of the region, especially in the areas of Izium and Severodonetsk.

The LPR units reportedly managed to establish control over Krimskoe and Prichepilovka villages, strengthening the control zone near the village of Novotoshkovskoye. After a massive artillery bombardment of Severodonetsk, LPR forces attempted to storm the city. The AFU units repelled the attack.

Meanwhile, the Russian military continued its missile strikes on military targets in different regions of Ukraine.

On April 10, Russian Kalibr missiles destroyed the S-300 anti-aircraft missile division hidden in a hangar on the southern outskirts of the city of Dnepropetrovsk. It was recently supplied to Ukraine by a European country, likely Slovakia. Four S-300 launchers and up to 25 personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces were also destroyed.

During the night, Russian missiles destroyed the repair base of weapons and military equipment of the Ukrainian air defense forces near Velikaya Novoselovka, including Buk-M1 and Osa-AKM anti-aircraft missile systems.

Two ammunition depots were destroyed near Nikolaev and Zhovtnevoye, and radar for illumination and guidance of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed in the area of Uspenovka.

As a result of high-precision strikes in the areas of Vozdvizhenka-2 and Ivanovka villages of the Donetsk region, nine tanks, five self-propelled 2S3 “Acacia” artillery installations, five BM-21 “Grad” multiple rocket launchers, and more than 60 nationalists were destroyed.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, two Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft were shot down near the village of Izyum.

Suffering heavy losses, Ukrainian nationalists are reportedly preparing to up their propaganda tactics.

On April 10, Russia revealed that Ukrainian soldiers had mined reservoirs with chlorine at a water utility in the Popyasnaya district as a part of a plot to blow them up when forces of the LPR approach the city. Earlier, on April 5, an acid tank in the 1st workshop of the Zarya plant was blown up in the town of Rubezhnoye.

Russia also revealed that with the West’s support Kiev is plotting more provocations with the massacre of civilians in the LPR to place the blame for it on Russian forces.

The West is not appeared to be planning to tune down its support for the Kiev regime any time soon. On April 9, British PM Boris Johnson paid a surprise visit to Kiev, where he met with president Zelensky. Following the visit, the UK promised to supply Kiev forces with 120 armored vehicles and anti-ship missiles.

The West’s blatant attempts to prolong the war in Ukraine on the hopes of “defeating” Russia will likely continue at the expense of the Ukrainian people.

Source:  Southfront