UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 89 - MAY 18, 2022

The Russian occupying authorities announced plans to destroy the Azovstal steelworks and turn Mariupol into a resort, depriving Russia of some of the key economic benefits it had hoped to gain from taking the city. Denis Pushilin, the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), stated that the DNR authorities plan to level the steelworks after taking control.

Azovstal was a crucial part of Mariupol's economy before the war, serving as a fully integrated metallurgical complex, providing 10,000 jobs, generating billions of dollars in foreign exchange and taxes, and producing 7,000 tons of steel, 6 million tons of iron, and 4.5 million tons of rolled products according to the Mariupol City Council. Pushilin stated that the DNR aims to transform Mariupol into a "recreational city," but also acknowledged that 60% of the buildings in Mariupol are so severely damaged that they cannot be rebuilt. The announced plan to turn Mariupol into a tourism and leisure center after a key economic hub in Mariupol was completely destroyed illustrates the damage inflicted by the Russian forces on Mariupol. Russia does not need another resort on the Black Sea; it needs the kind of hard currency that an asset like Azovstal had generated. This announcement symbolizes the Pyrrhic victories that the Russian forces have achieved in Ukraine, if they have achieved any victories at all.

The Russian forces continue their air and artillery attacks on the Azovstal steelworks, indicating that despite the recent evacuations, remnants of Ukrainian defenses may still be present in the plant.

The Russian forces continue to focus on holding their positions along the Russian border to prevent further Ukrainian advances north of the city of Kharkiv, likely at the expense of shifting additional reinforcements to other axes of advance.

The Russian troops concentrate on maintaining their positions on the southern axis and conducting missile, missile, and artillery attacks along the front line.

The complete Russian Offensive Update 89 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANDING WAR online