The Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its eighth week, and on Friday President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the people for it To withstand it for 50 days.
50 days of defense is a feat. In his daily speech, he said it was an achievement shared by millions of Ukrainians.
During this time, the strategically important city of Mariupol was hit hard and was attacked almost continuously. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes, while those who remain have little access to water, food and medicine.
Difficult setting: The port city of Mariupol was besieged by the Russians several weeks ago. The city, so to speak, is level with the ground. Photo: Alexander Ermoshenko/Reuters/NTP
Russia repeatedly declared its control of the city, but Ukrainian forces maintained it. And on Sunday morning, the rest of the defense forces received an ultimatum to lay down the weapon.
It’s a drama and tragedy that unfolds. Unfortunately, it is a conventional war waged in the usual Russian way with heavy artillery, and now with more missiles and more intensification. Mariupol will probably fall in a very short time.
This is what Professor Jan Halland Matlary of the University of Oslo says. Her professional interests include security and defense policy.
Will: Professor Jan Haaland Matlary says there are two factors that cause the Russians to fight hard and advance brutally. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
– Plan to win at any cost
In an exclusive interview with CNN Zelensky said this weekend that there is a real chance that Putin will be able to use nuclear weapons. This is something that has created fear, since Putin announced that he is ruling the country Nuclear weapons on standby At the beginning of the invasion.
In an interview with TV 2, Matlary made it clear that the West should not be afraid that Putin would use nuclear weapons. She thinks these are just threats.
This means that if Russia does not achieve its goals in Ukraine with conventional warfare, there will be more dangers of using tactical nuclear weapons, which are smaller nuclear weapons developed in recent years.
Strong pressure after several defeats: – I think it will be more dangerous
Nina Khrushchev is the granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, as well as a professor of international affairs in the United States. She warns in an interview with BBC That the Kremlin could view the use of tactical nuclear weapons as an alternative.
– I think this war is really a war that Putin plans to win, plans to win at any cost.
– If he needs to declare victory and may need to use tactical nuclear weapons. I don’t expect that, but it could be one of the options the Russians might be willing to use.
Ukrainian soldiers fight with their back to the wall
The will will be great
In early April, Russian forces in northern Ukraine began withdrawing to regroup in the eastern regions of the country. On Saturday, Governor Serhiy Hajjaj in Luhansk said Russia did Put tens of thousands of soldiers in eastern Ukraine with the aim of attacking soon.
In the latest intelligence update from the UK inform the Ministry of Defense that although Russia continues to redistribute its forces to eastern Ukraine, “their ultimate goal remains the same.”
They are committed to forcing Ukraine to abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and assert its regional hegemony.
Offensive: a man in the center of Mariupol on April 14. A new major offensive is now expected in eastern Ukraine. Photo: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/NTB
At the same time, Russia announced that attacks on Kyiv would intensify in response to “terrorist attacks” by Ukraine. They noted alleged attacks on the Russian side of the border, which Ukraine denies, and that the flagship “Moscow” sank.
“I think that the sinking of the Moscow ship and the fact that they failed to take Kyiv as planned, means that the Russian will to fight fiercely and brutally in the future will be great,” says Matlary.
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