Taruta: There will be no assault on Mariupol, because Russia does not need Donbass
The ex-governor of the Donetsk region and oligarch Sergei Taruta, who is now responsible for organizing the defense of Mariupol, gave interview "Novaya Gazeta". He is confident that Moscow will not help the DPR militias take Mariupol, as was the case in Debaltsevo and Ilovaisk, including because Russia does not need Donbass.
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“It will be difficult for them to take Mariupol,” Taruta says about the militia. – If they had such an opportunity, they would have already taken it to show Russia: look what cool peppers we are. But this cannot be done with their strength.
I don't believe in a direct invasion by Russian troops. Yes, it happened in Ilovaisk and Debaltsevo. But here, in Mariupol, the situation is different, the depth is different, the city is far from the border. It's fortified. All approaches are protected. But they will try to move forward, and we must hit them in the teeth at any provocation. And the separatists must understand that any attempts to hit us will cost them dearly.”
According to Taruta, Ukraine “needs to make maximum use of peace efforts. Russia also gives them (the militias) clear commands: you are part of Ukraine, we are not going to annex you, you must find a compromise and agree with the Ukrainian authorities on how to continue to ensure the livelihoods of these territories. Systems of control over them within the territories must also appear.”
However, the oligarch admits that Ukraine is hated in Donbass, and believes that the blockade of the region by Kiev only hinders the restoration of control over it.
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