Mariupol had been reclaimed by the Ukrainian government. There seems to be no end to the conflict in Ukraine. Beginning with the Maidan pro-EU protests and continuing with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the situation soon escalated as pro-Russian rebels made their voices and weapons heard. Today the Ukrainian army moved into Mariupol, a city on the south-eastern border with just under five hundred thousand inhabitants, and reclaimed it with few casualties on both sides.
Reports say that five rebels and two servicemen were killed in the ensuing battle with four members of the national guard wounded. The attack was launched at dawn with the aid of special armed forces, the national guard and units from the interior ministry as the Ukrainian army surrounded the city while later, at its center, a number of 100 pro-Russian civilians exchanged obscene gestures with the soldiers.
Mariupol is an important strategical point for its production of steel but also because of its location as a port-city on the north coast of the Sea of Azov and its proximity to the eastern border of Ukraine. The anti-terrorist operation against the pro-Russian rebels, as Ukraine officials often called it, was started in April with the scope of securing a rather permeable border and taking back important settlements.
Petro Poroshenko, the freshly elected president, assured Ukrainians of his pro-EU policy as soon as he was instated to office. What he inherited though is a country in disarray with an army that registered serious losses, both in human lives and military equipment, seemingly unfit to counteract the rebels and their guerrilla warfare tactics efficiently and leaving the city of Sloviansk without electricity after a bombardment. In cities like Donetsk more and more stores are closing as civilians remain in their homes or, in some cases, seek refuge in Crimea. Mariupol has been reclaimed by the Ukrainian government amid ongoing tensions with no end in sight.
This status quo was reached after a failure to find diplomatic solutions. The EU halfheartedly imposed economic sanctions on Russia with Germany, its engine, being the most reserved of all European states. The U.S. government officials stated that they have proof of Russia supplying weaponry to the rebels but the western world’s hands are tied when it comes to offering any military aid to Ukraine, a country just outside of the NATO border.
Meanwhile the U.S. was more preoccupied to assure Ukraine’s neighboring countries that are part of the north-Atlantic alliance of their full support and assistance and that, if the need would arise, all accords in place will be respected. The distress signals coming from countries like Romania, Poland and the Baltic countries are justified, considering the aggressive diplomatic speech practiced by the Russian Federation and their officials, a speech that leaves little room for discussion.
Russian officials also proceeded to deny any involvement in the conflict, pointing at the civil unrest and moving troops to the Ukrainian border only to give in to international pressure and withdraw them. Officials opinionated that the minority of Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine should have their right to vote and gain their autonomy from the large ex-soviet state. This process, if ever completed would leave a broken Ukraine that would be, as it is already, far from their EU and NATO aspirations. Mariupol has been reclaimed by the Ukrainian government today but the skirmishes are far from over.