After three ceasefires by the Russian army and failed evacuation efforts—with shelling during ceasefires cited as the reason for failures—Russia continues to be determined to seize Mariupol.
Why is Mariupol so important?
The port city of Mariupol is the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, situated in the southeast of Ukraine, and located 10 kilometres from the areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk.
Capturing Mariupol will enable Russia to connect its troops in the annexed region of Crimea with those in Donetsk and Luhansk through a land bridge. This would enable Russia to easily move goods to and from Crimea—which has been a main standing aim of Moscow since 2014.
Currently, the Russian mainland is connected to Crimea through a single bridge, which was built following the annexation in 2014.
Besides connectivity, control over Mariupol would also give Russia over one of Ukraine's biggest ports and the land corridor would help secure control of the Ukrainian coast on the Sea of Azov.
How will it affect Ukraine?
Cutting off maritime access to Ukraine is expected to inflict huge economic damage on the country, as Russian troops are moving west towards Odessa to isolate Ukraine.
Mariupol, being the largest port in the Azov Sea region, has deep berths that make it an attractive proposition in terms of maritime transportation.
Mariupol is also an important industrial centre of Ukraine that houses key metallurgical enterprises of steel and iron production. The Illich Iron & Steel Works and Azovstal are strategically important for Ukraine.
Hence, taking over Mariupol will put economic pressure on the Ukrainian government, as it will also cause the collapse of Ukraine's military operations along the former line of contact between Ukrainian forces and separatist groups.
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