Mariupol steel mill battle rages as Ukraine repels attacks
Source: AP
By JON GAMBRELL and CARA ANNA
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Heavy fighting raged Thursday at the shattered steel plant in Mariupol as Russian forces attempted to finish off the city’s last-ditch defenders and complete the capture of the strategically vital port.
The bloody battle came amid growing suspicions that President Vladimir Putin wants to present the Russian people with a major battlefield success — or announce an escalation of the war — in time for Victory Day on Monday. That is the biggest patriotic holiday on the Russian calendar, marking the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany.
Ten weeks into the devastating war, Ukraine’s military claimed it recaptured some areas in the south and repelled other attacks in the east, further frustrating Putin’s ambitions after his abortive attempt to seize Kyiv.
Ukrainian and Russian forces are fighting village by village, as Moscow struggles to gain momentum in the Donbas, the eastern industrial heartland that the Kremlin says is now its chief objective.
Smoke rises from the Metallurgical Combine Azovstal in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-aab9f48d6c4941d2f4d4b5d3fa8ed751
Help the people of Ukraine with a tax deductible donation at our DU link here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/duforukraine
= new reply since forum marked as read
A Ukrainian woman is being hailed for her bravery after she confronted a heavily-armed Russian soldier and offered him sunflower seeds — so that they might bloom when he dies. The woman was captured on camera voicing her outrage as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, with tanks rolling across the border and air strikes targeting major cities.
Good always conquers evil. 
Kick A S S
