Putin's Siege of Mariupol: Will Russia Capture the Key City? - TLDR News

Mariupol might only be Ukraine's 10th largest city, but it's a key part of Putin's plan for invasion. So in this video we take a look at the siege of Mariupol and discuss why Putin needs it and if he's actually likely to be successful

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[swankfiber]

Saying the city is pro-russian because 92% of them speak Russian is akin to saying Ireland is pro-uk because 92% of Irish people speak English

[Thats_Mr_Random_Person_to_you]

Something else to note about Mariupol from a strategic perspective. Recent satellite imagery shows that whilst most of Mariupol has been destroyed and heavily shelled, the entire port area has basically not been touched at all... ie it does look like the Russians want to keep the port infrastructure intact for future use. It might be worth the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol doing whatever they can to destory the port facilities and make using it a difficult rebuilding excercise (like Germany did to various French ports after the Normandy landings to slow allied resupply efforts).

Its would be sad for Ukrainian's to have to resort to destroying parts of their own city, but we also know its unlikely they will be able to resist the Russian siege forever...

[dronusm]

I am a citizen of Mariupol who left a week ago. First of all I wanted to say that in past 7 years this town changed from industrial depressive city that didn’t much change from soviet times to beautiful, European-like city (check photos if you want), full of young people and full of opportunities, and high level of life. yes we are russian-speaking but we have nothing in common with russians and we truly support integration in EU or NATO.
in first days of war we thought that it is not going to last long and we stayed in city. but what happened next - is terrifying siege. our army here has no aircraft at all or things to fight aircraft from ground. and whole city was bombed and destroyed. now it can be called a ghost town. for me it’s the biggest pain to leave my home and live with a thought that my home is destroyed. so we hope that it is going to stay and never surrender, and it won’t!

[rockerteen]

Russia was always favored to win, but no one knew how poor their army would do, not to mention Russia has awoken the entire west, something I guarantee he didn’t intend, and just that outcome alone means no matter what happens in Ukraine Putin has lost the long game he was going for.

[lukasj]

I think the most important factor is that Ukraine binds 14 000 russian troops with just 3500 in Mariupol which is a great strategic advantage

[lachlansydney]

Russia was the second most powerful military in the world. Now it is the second most powerful military in Ukraine.

[jeppeofriis]

If I am being completely honest, I think doing a “smooth transition” into a Brilliant-ad is a bit clumsy - if not straight up insensitive. I realise you guys have to fund the great work you are doing somehow, but I would suggest that you make a greater effort to separate the ad-segments from the actual video.

Just my 2 cents, keep up the good work!

[mab]

If we have learned anything from history, then bombarding an urban center before advancing into this urban region is not a smart idea to begin with. The German 6th Army (Wehrmacht) learned it first hand at Stalingrad.
I think the Russians’ first objective is still Kyiv, which is not going well for them. Army ration expired back in 2015... If I’m a Russian soldier, I would rather eat my own leather belt.

[Keln]

The main issues with Mariupol are:
Food remaining
Ammunition remaining
Can the UA harass the Russian army enough to break the siege

[davidbenger]

Even though the Russian invasion has stalled, and may even be pushed back in places, I suspect that the Russians will not enter into serious ceasefire negotiations until they have captured it. Otherwise, under a ceasefire, Mariupol could be resupplied and be a major problem behind Russian lines. Also, once captured Russia will have a serious bloc of territory with which to bargain. So do not expect to see serious ceasefire negotiations until it falls.

[idraote]

Your analysis is one sided.
You entirely omit to mention that Ukrainian russophones are getting more and more angry at Putin.
Their homes have been destroyed, their people are among the many casualties. Nobody in Ukraine, except perhaps in occupied areas of Donbass, is having a good time right now.

Second, seeing Mariupol fall could have two consequences:
it could indeed dishearten the Ukrainians, but it could also make them angrier. The Ukrainians have proven themselves to be far more dangerous than the world expected. Cornered, they could become even more determined.
Most men have sent their wives and children abroad. They are now free to fight to the bitter end without fear for their families.

[TheSviker]

Being russian-speaking doesn't mean automatically being pro-russian, that a big oof from your part.

[Hexagonius-jstl]

Best of luck to those in Ukraine this war is hurting everyone involved and I wish you all the best. Stay safe

[MrManafon]

Sorry but “speaking russian” and “identify as soviet” are absolutely not equivalent to “pro-russian”.

I understand that its sometimes hard for westerners to understand that, and its crazy that Putin didn’t recognize it. Ethnicity is not the only factor that decides if you truly belong on one or the other side of the border. As for the soviet part, most of these people remember the sssr as a happier time, partly because it was, and partly because of the “past tense bias”. It by no means means that they want to give up their sovereign rule in favor of russia. Just shows how far Putin had gone.

[TheOsis]

They did agree on humanitarian corridors but Russian mined the roads and fired on civillians

[MrRedsjack]

It's already amazing that they lasted this long.

[valipunctro]

The bigger win was Kherson, mariopol already played it's part in the Ukrainian defiance, if it falls soon I don't think it will affect Ukrainian moral.and the Russians still need to clear those Ukrainian fighters in the city which will come at severe losses that the Russians won't recover from easily.
The coldness of this take does not escape me but if those Ukrainian soldiers fight to the last and don't surrender it will send a powerful message to Russia that this is what Waits for them in every other city.

[AnarhistPanics]

It’s very uneducated to call Azov a neo-nazi organization. Yes, back in 2014 it was formed from controversial members as response to russian aggression, but as a time went on, Azov became less political and more defensive multinational organization that follows the order of Ukrainian government.

[stefanosvichas]

You keep saying the name: Donetsk People's Republic, stop it's not recognized, they are just separatist.

[UlyssesXF]

While Putin is probably thinking that taking Mariupol would reduce the overall morale of Ukrainian defenders, I'm expecting it to have the opposite effect and becoming the equivalent of the Alamo during Texas's war for independence from Mexico. Mexican forces took the Alamo, but "Remember the Alamo" became a rallying cry for the Texan side and the Texans fought even harder.