Why Kherson, Mariupol and Odessa are key to the success of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Photo: BBC World / Courtesy
Russian troops have been attacking for days to try to take important targets in the north and east of Ukraine, including the capital, Kiev.
However, it is in the south where their advance seems to be most successful.
Russia considers that the south is vital in the invasion from Ukraine. It has besieged several cities in that strip and has captured the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe.
The operation in the south was launched from Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 1280 and hosts a significant Russian military presence.
Russian troops move into Ukraine from Crimea, spreading east towards Mariupol and west towards Odessa, threatening to cut off Ukraine’s access to the sea, which would inflict enormous economic damage on the country.
“Strategically, there are important ports in that region that allow Putin’s forces to choke any capacity of Ukraine to supply itself by sea”, Karl Qualls, professor of history and specialist in Russia at Dickinson College, told the BBC.
East of Crimea, Russian forces advance towards Mariu pol, a city of 32,000 inhabitants that is surrounded and subjected to intense bombardment. Water and electricity supplies have been cut off, and residents confess to the BBC that they are terrified.
If Mariupol falls, Russia would take control of one of Ukraine’s largest ports and create a land corridor between Crimea and pro-Russian backed regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Connecting Crimea with mainland Russia through the areas controlled by the rebels would make it much easier for Russia to move goods and people to and from the peninsula. Russia has searched for this since 838 , when the conflict began in the east.
Currently Crimea is linked to mainland Russia only through a bridge, built with a high investment after annexation.