War In Ukraine Day 13: Mariupol Trap Closing. Eastern Front Next To ComeSouth Front

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Russia and Ukraine persist in their attempts to secure evacuation of civilians from the Ukrainian cities which were completely or partially blockaded by the joint Russian and LDPR forces.

On March 8, despite the fact that the attempts to secure the humanitarian corridors from the most affected cities like Mariupol failed once again, there were the first successes in other regions. A humanitarian corridor in the city of Sumy allowed for the evacuation of 723 foreigners from India, China, Jordan and Tunisia have been evacuated along the Sumy-Poltava route, said Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation.

The success was likely due to the mass protests carried out by the foreigners, mainly students, when they blamed the Ukrainian authorities of inability to secure their evacuation from the war-torn cities, what caused discontent in foreign states.

Meanwhile, the general number of those who left Ukraine by their own means has exceeded 2 million people.

On March 9, the Russian side will declare another ceasefire regime to ensure the operation of humanitarian corridors from Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol to Russia, Belarus as well to other Ukrainian cities, the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine claimed in a statement.

“From 10:00 Moscow time on March 9, 2022, the Russian Federation declares a “regime of silence” and is ready to provide humanitarian corridors,” says the statement signed by the chief of staff, head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mizintsev.

The Russian side offered to evacuate civilians from Sumy to Poltava, from Kharkiv by agreement to Lviv, Uzhgorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, from Mariupol to Zaporozhye, from Chernihiv to the south by agreement with the Ukrainian side.

March 9 should mark the 5th day of attempts to secure the evacuation of civilians, while the situation in the blockaded cities like Mariupol is worsening.

The head of the European Bureau of the World Health Organization, Hans Kluge, claimed that Ukraine has faced a humanitarian catastrophe, and the local health system is under stiff pressure.

Ukrainian soldiers firing from the roof of a civilian house. Location unknown:

The most difficult situation is currently in the city of Mariupol which has been blockaded for a week.

On March 8, the Mariupol City Council confirmed that a civilian car exploded on a mine while trying to reach a humanitarian corridor and leave the city.

The locals who managed to escape from the city confirmed that members of the Azov nationalist battalion mined the roads leading to the humanitarian corridors. Almost all roads were blockaded, and civilians could not even reach the highways that were secured by the joint Russian and DPR forces.

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The official representative of the DPR People’s Militia Eduard Basurin claimed that today “the servicemen of the Donetsk People’s Republic, risking their own lives, penetrated into the suburbs of the city and evacuated citizens.”

After the end of the ceasefire regime in Mariupol, the units of the DPR advanced about 800-900 meters in the city. Clashes took place in the Left Bank region, which is the main stronghold of the Ukrainian nationalist forces in Mariupol.

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At the same time Russian forces began the moping-up from the eastern and north-eastern directions. They reportedly managed to liberate all suburbs in the west of the city.

The front lines are now on the city streets. Operations of the joint forces in Mariupol and Volnovakha are carried out with close air support of the Russian Aero Space Forces (VKS).

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Some advances of Russian forces were reported in the Kiev region.

On March 8, units of the Russian Armed Forces expanded their control zone around Kyiv. Russian units took control over the village of Bogdanovka to the north-east of the capital. Clashes were also reported in Brovary.

Fighting continues in Bucha, Irpen and on the Borodyanka-Vorzel front lines to the northwest of Kiev.

Russian forces in Bogdanovka:

Near Brovary:

The mayor of Boryspil confirmed the destruction of a military base in the city by a missile.

Reports indicate that the grouping of Russian forces around the Ukrainian capital is currently focused on consolidating their gains north, northeast and northwest of Kyiv and prepare to fully block the city.

The capital is not shelled with missiles, only military facilities in the city’s suburbs. Civilians are trying to leave the city, but in general, the situation is stable enough. Stores, pharmacies, as well as city transport are working. Checkpoints were established in the city and its suburbs. Civilians are looking for Russian saboteurs, what leads to more victims. Sporadic clashes between the gangs who have been recently armed by local authorities continue.

A customs warehouse was destroyed near Kiev

The city of Chernihiv is yet to be blockaded by Russian forces. Sumy, Konotop and Akhtyrka also remain under the AFU control.

According to unconfirmed reports, Russian troops left the city of Kharkiv, and crossed back the ring road in the city. There were no reports of fierce street fighting in the city for several days.

Russian VKS are active over the city. And artillery fire continues mainly in the city suburbs. Ukrainian forces continue to use residential areas, as well as civilians left in the city, to hide from the enemy attacks.

The following video shows the tactics used by the AFU.

The Ukrainian MLRS “Hurricane” fired a salvo from Traktorostroiteley Avenue in the northern direction, towards the Severnaya Saltovka district. Then, they quickly left the area. The Severnaya Saltovka ana district is just one of the most affected in the city today. The combat vehicle was deployed near the city’s children’s activity center and residential buildings, provoking Russian forces to target residential areas. The city is not blockaded from the western and south-western directions. The town of Chuguev is also under the AFU control.

On March 7, Russian entered the town of Izyum. There were fierce clashes in the town and surrounding areas. However, there was still no confirmation that the city is completely under control of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

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On the Donbass front lines the joint Russian, LPR and DPR are steadily advancing, trying to incircle the largest UAF grouping in the region.

LPR forces continue to take control over the villages in the suburbs of the Severdonetsk. On March 7, they advanced in the Eastern suburbs, on March 8 LPR units approached the city from the West. The town of Rubezhnoe, as well as village of Belogorovka are now under the LPR control.

The village of Popasnaya was also liberated from the UAF, what is an important tactical gain for the LPR. The town is located on a key road in the area south of Lysychansk. Advance towards Bahmut continues.

LPR forces advancing from the Popasnaya area seek to prevent the retreat of pro-Kyiv units towards the south and southwest. If the towns of Seversk and Bahmut are taken by Russia and its allies, the Ukrainian grouping in the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk agglomeration will be in a de-facto tactical encirclement.

In their turn, DPR forces are steadily encircling the AFU in Volnovakha. The villages of Novotroitskoye and Vladimirovka are now under the DPR control, thus the road to region in this villages was cut off.

On March 8, units of the People’s Militia of the DPR took control over the settlements of Olenovka, Polnoe and Yuzhnodonbasskoye.

The UAF were repelled to Olginka, where artillery battles continue. the village is reportedly blockaded from three directions.

At the same time, the massive shelling of territories under the control of the DPR and the LPR continues. The UAF are targeting residential buildings. Civilians are diying under Ukrainian fire.

Destructions in Gorlovka

In the Zaporizhya direction, the UAF are holding the defense along the Kamenskoye-Orekhov-Gulyai-Pole-Velikaya Novoselka front line. No significant military developments were reported in the region.

Ukrainian soldiers firing form the roof of the Mykolaiv airport:

After some tactical setbacks in the area of operations on the western bank of Dnipro River, Russian units readjusted their tactics and blocked Mykolaiv from the south, southeast and southwest. Forward units of the Russian Armed Forces were also spotted to the north of Mykolaiv, near the village of Kandibino. Meanwhile, the governor of the Mykolaiv region reported on the preparation of the Russian army to storm the city.

The Russian army is also strengthening its presence in the Kriviy Rig direction in the area of Snegireva and Bashtanka.

The Russian armored train provided evacuation of 248 foreigners, including 40 Ukrainians, from the Kherson region to the Crimea. The servicemen secured evacuation of citizens of Turkey, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, India and Morocco.

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