Fighters of the Azov nationalist formation, which is part of the Ukrainian National Guard, are blockading Mariupol and preventing the townspeople from evacuating, said Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the DPR’s NM department.
“The worst thing in this situation is probably that Azov is blockading the city in Mariupol and not allowing civilians to leave it”, – Basurin said.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to an appeal by the leaders of the DPR and LPR, he decided to conduct a special military operation to demilitarise and denationalise Ukraine.