- Title: Timeline: A look back at Mariupol nearly six months into war
- Date: 12th April 2022
- Summary: President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the military to cancel plans to storm the Azovstal plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and said he wanted it to continue to be hermetically blockaded instead. MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RECENT - APRIL 21, 2022) (RUSSIAN POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary. I order you to cancel it. This is a case where we must think - I mean we always must think, but in this case more so - about preserving the lives and health of our soldiers and officers. There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that a fly cannot not pass through.â€
- Embargoed: 26th April 2022 02:55
- Keywords: Azovstal Illich Ilyich Mariupol Russian invasion Ukraine damage defence of Mariupol destroyed evacuation residential buildings steel plant war
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe
- Reuters ID: LVA00K000806042022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE
CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
Wednesday (August 24) marks six months since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Moscow launched what it called its "special military operation" against Ukraine on February 24. Kyiv and its allies say Ukraine was invaded without provocation.
The struggle for Mariupol, a once bustling city of 430,000 on the shores of the Sea of Azov left it pulverised and with an estimated population in the tens of thousands.
Russia seized full control of Mariupol in May when more than 2,400 Ukrainian fighters surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steelworks.
The United Nations says 90% of the city's buildings were destroyed after Russia used tanks, artillery and air strikes to try to dislodge its defenders.
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