Putin tries to claim Mariupol victory but won't storm Ukraine holdout

KYIV, Ukraine - Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to claim victory in the strategic port of Mariupol on Thursday, even as he ordered his troops not to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the war’s iconic battleground.Russian troops have besieged the southeastern city since the early days of the conflict and largely pulverized it — and top officials have repeatedly indicated it was about to fall, but Ukrainian forces stubbornly held on.

In recent weeks, they holed up in a sprawling steel plant, and Russian forces pounded the industrial site and repeatedly issued ultimatums ordering the defenders to surrender.Putin said that, for now, he would not risk sending troops into the warren of tunnels under the giant Azovstal plant, instead preferring to isolate the holdouts who have captivated the world’s attention "so that not even a fly comes through." His defense minster said the plant was blocked off, while giving yet another prediction that the site could be taken in days.Putin's order may mean that Russian officials are hoping they can wait for the defenders to surrender after running out of food or ammunition.

Bombings of the plant could well continue.Even though Putin painted the mission to take Mariupol already a success and said the city had been "liberated," until the plant falls, he cannot declare a complete victory.A view of the destruction in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of the Russian military and pro-Russian separatists, on April 19, 2022. (Photo by Leon Klein/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said about 2,000 Ukrainian troops remained in the plant, which has a labyrinth of tunnels and bunkers that spread out across about 11 square.