Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin that Russian troops had control of the strategic port city and that the Azovstal plant in the south where Ukrainian forces were hiding had been closed.
A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said almost all of Mariupol was under Russian control, but fighting for the plant continued.
Mr Shoigu’s statement came a day after Russia rejected a UN-backed four-day ceasefire that would go into effect on Thursday.
Since the first weeks of the invasion, Russia has tightened its hold on Mariupol, pushing out pockets of resistance in residential areas. In recent weeks, it has focused on the remaining Ukrainian troops still fighting the steel plant. There were conflicting reports about how many Ukrainian soldiers remained at the plant, with Russia saying some 2,000 were there.
Pointing to the heavy losses suffered by the Russian armed forces in the first weeks of the conflict, Mr Putin dismissed a suggestion by Mr Shoigu, saying it would unnecessarily endanger the lives of Russian soldiers.
He said, “This is one of those times when we should think about the safety of life and health of our soldiers and officers. Block this industrial area so that not even a fly can enter.”
Mr Putin urged Ukrainian troops to lay down their weapons at the plant and said they would be dealt with in accordance with international law.
While Russian troops will not attack the plant, an operation that could take three to four days, they will still be engaging with Ukrainian troops who will continue to fire at Russian posts, Mr. Shoigu said.
Ukraine’s Azov regiment said on Thursday that “despite an extremely difficult situation,” it has managed to destroy three Russian tanks and two armored personnel carriers in the past two days.
On Wednesday, Major Serhi Volina, the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade guarding the steel plant, said in a video recording that time was running out for his troops and that they had only hours or days to live.
“The enemy armies have outnumbered us 10 times,” he said, wearing a long and shaggy beard, adding, “They dominate the skies, have the upper hand in artillery in terms of groups working on the ground.” , as well as in military equipment and tanks.”
An effective blockade of the steel plant would free Russian troops who have been fighting there for weeks, allowing Moscow to focus on other parts of southern Ukraine, where its troops have made the most territorial gains. . Capturing the city would also secure a land bridge between Russian-controlled territories and Crimea, which Moscow seceded from Ukraine in 2014.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said it struck more than 1,000 military objects across the country overnight, including 58 command posts and 162 artillery positions.
Weeks after Russian troops withdrew from areas around Kyiv following a devastating attack on the capital, Mr Zelensky said officials were working to restore order, but warned that the situation still remained dire as Moscow left More concerted efforts are expected to land. in the east of the country.
“The situation in the east and south of our country remains as dire as possible,” Mr Zelensky said in an address late Wednesday. “The occupants never give up trying to win at least some of the victories for themselves through a new massive offensive.”
Russia’s deputy envoy to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, rejected a ceasefire plan put forward by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying it was an attempt to give Ukrainian forces a chance to regroup and regroup. seemed like.
“I will not hide the fact that the calls for a ceasefire and ceasefire sound very fake and despicable,” Mr Polanski said, speaking at the United Nations.
Ukraine awaits details of the $800 million new arms package put together by the Biden administration. The first aid package included heavy artillery: 18 howitzer guns. Unlike the Soviet-model artillery pieces in the Ukrainian arsenal, those guns use 155 mm ammunition, which is more readily available in the West.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian forces were blocking and shelling the northern city of Kharkiv, which lies near the Russian border. Russian state news agency RIA reported that Russian forces had pushed westward from eastern Ukraine with their veils to the edge of Kharkiv province.
The General Staff also said that Russian troops had forced Ukrainian men in the Kherson-occupied province to mobilize on the side of the Russians and blocked Ukrainian humanitarian aid from reaching the region.