Practically all means have been used
The fate of the Mariupol “cauldron”, in which the remnants of the southern group of the armed forces of Ukraine (APU) and the national battalions turned out to be, according to experts, is practically a foregone conclusion. It is said that its liquidation is a matter of several days. At the same time, Kyiv is making more and more desperate attempts to evacuate some important people from the environment. There are different versions of this.
Photo: Global Look Press
Initially, they tried to break through to the encircled by helicopters. We tried different routes – from the Sea of Azov and from land. Everything ended with the same result: several helicopters fell into the sea, others fell to the ground. Two Ukrainian soldiers were lucky to survive. They said that they commanded the operation on the spot and formed the passenger lists of representatives of the national battalion “Azov” (an extremist organization banned in the Russian Federation).
The night before yesterday there was an attempt to use a civilian ship for the same purpose. As the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, General Igor Konashenkov, said, nothing came of this either. The Ukrainian dry cargo ship Apache under the Maltese flag tried to break through to the port of Mariupol, but was stopped by the fire of the border ships of the Russian Federation. None of the sailors were hurt.
The ship was negotiating by radio with someone from the encircled. At the same time, they used a remarkable radio call sign: “I'm a Maniac, I'm coming to you.”
Indeed, with some maniacal persistence, Kyiv is trying to save someone from Mariupol. And obviously not all, but only a select few. Otherwise, the Armed Forces of Ukraine would have organized a larger operation to break the blockade. So who do they want to pull out?
At first, a version appeared that it was about the Azov command. Like, they want to save the leaders of the national battalions from Mariupol at any cost. However, it is doubtful that Zelensky and the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are so concerned about the fate of the neo-Nazis who committed dozens of crimes in Donbass that they would sacrifice the remnants of helicopter aviation in order to save them. foreign military advisers from NATO countries. And this assumption is much more convincing.
A week ago, a number of experts connected the events in Mariupol with the sudden resignation of the head of French military intelligence, Eric Vido. The French Ministry of Defense explained his departure with a lack of understanding of what is happening in Ukraine. But experts did not rule out that the general may be to blame for not evacuating his intelligence officers from Mariupol in time.
Later, the Chinese television channel CGTN reported that on board one of the Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters shot down near Mariupol were French intelligence officers. Allegedly, the bodies of two Frenchmen were found, who, judging by the documents, were officers of the French intelligence DGSE.
The fact that many foreign mercenaries, and, possibly, advisers from NATO countries, remain in Mariupol is evidenced by radio intercepts. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, radio conversations were recorded that were conducted in several European languages.
Versions also appeared on the Web that representatives of other countries could be stuck in Mariupol, including military instructors from Israel and Great Britain. They could train the Ukrainian military in the handling of foreign weapons, as well as reconnaissance methods using imported drones.
One of the Azov militants, captured in Mariupol, said that there could be up to three hundred foreigners.
Military expert, editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Alexei Leonkov is convinced that many of them will be able to be taken alive for a subsequent trial. To do this, they will fill up all the entrances and exits to underground shelters on the territory of the plant and “leave one for surrender.”
“There are also foreign mercenaries. They will be presented to the whole world, as well as NATO specialists who manage the national battalions. This will be proof that NATO, controlling Ukrainian units, is waging war with Russia,” Leonkov said.
Politician and writer Zakhar Prilepin also believes that important foreign military officials have settled in Mariupol. Like, that is why Ukraine once again refused to exchange prisoners and then is going to exchange Russian military personnel for foreigners. “Kyiv is preparing for the fact that foreigners will be taken prisoner in Mariupol,” Prilepin wrote on his Telegram channel. – Kyiv holds our soldiers and officers captive, and does not give anyone away. They will need to urgently change advisers, specialists, mercenaries from Europe. They are preparing to bargain in earnest.”
Ukrainian troops in Mariupol and other cities are using terrorist tactics – hiding behind the civilian population, placing firing positions among residential buildings, schools, and hospitals. These are all war crimes. And in this case, foreign advisers and mercenaries become accomplices in these crimes.