Ukrainian foreign minister says Mariupol “doesn’t exist anymore” after Russian siege

Washington – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday that the port city of Mariupol “no longer exists” after being besieged by Russian forces for seven weeks without a break.

“The situation in Mariupol is terrible both militarily and heartbreakingly. The city no longer exists,” Kuleba said in an interview with Face the Nation. “The remnants of the Ukrainian army and a large group of civilians are basically surrounded by Russian forces. They continue their fight, but it seems that because of the way the Russian army is behaving in Mariupol, they decided to destroy the city. price. “

• Transcript: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba on “Facing the Nation”

Russian troops have suffered a series of setbacks since President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in late February, and his forces have been unable to take Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the Russian navy. lose the flagship of its Black Sea fleet.

Ukrainian security agents as well captured Viktor Medvedchukan oligarch who was the Kremlin’s main agent of influence in Kyiv, in another loss to Putin.

Kuleba said that as a citizen of Ukraine, Medvedchuk will have “all procedural rights.”

“Its future will be decided within the framework of, on the one hand, the judicial process and, on the other, the political process. We do not rule out any political option,” he said. “But as I said, we are a country of the rule of law. And, first of all, we will face responsibility for the crimes he committed against Ukraine.”

But Mariupol appeared, a key port city for Ukraine about to fall to Russian forces on Sunday, which would give Moscow a land corridor to the Crimean peninsula. The Russian military estimates that some 2,500 Ukrainian fighters are still at the Azovstal steel plant, providing a remaining resistance bag.

Officials estimate that about 21,000 people have been killed by Russian troops in Mariupol and 120,000 are still in the city. Before the war, the city’s population was 450,000.

Echoing comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on possible talks with Russia, Kuleba said the fall of Mariupol could significantly hamper any negotiations.

“After Bucha, it became especially difficult to keep talking to the Russians,” he said atrocities against civilians committed by Russian troops in the city outside Kyiv. “But as my president said, Mariupol can be a red line.”

With Russia appearing close to victory in Mariupol, Ukrainian officials are also preparing to intensify attacks in the eastern Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatists have control of some territory. Kuleba said he also expects “desperate attempts by Russian forces … to end Mariupol at all costs,” and that missile attacks on Kyiv and other cities continue.

To strengthen Ukraine’s defenses in the war, the US has sent more than $ 2.6 billion in security aid, with President Biden last week approve an additional $ 800 million in weapons, ammunition and other equipment.

The United States is also considering sending a high-ranking official to Kyiv as a show of support, although the White House has repeatedly said there are no plans for Mr. Biden to visit the country.

Kuleba praised the president for the military aid that has been sent to Ukraine and said Mr Biden’s visit would be an “important message of support” for Ukrainians.

“A personal meeting between two presidents could also pave the way for new supplies and US weapons in Ukraine and also for discussions on a possible political and political solution to this conflict,” he said.

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