A video has been released by pro-Russian Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov that shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise structure in the bombed-out city of Mariupol. The video shows the firing at the high rise during a standoff with Ukraine's soldiers.
It comes after Putin's army bombed a Mariupol theatre that was believed to be hiding terrified individuals, despite the word "children" being painted on the building's outside. Russia has been facing tough resistance from Ukrainians and this video is believed to have been posted in a bid to prove that more deadly attack is expected by the Russians in the coming days.
Promoting Chechen Aggression
Kadyrov on Friday posted a propaganda video that shows heavily armed rebels from Chechnya smashing a high-rise structure in the bombed-out city of Mariupol. The Chechen rebels are seen fighting Ukrainian soldiers.
The Ukrainians are believed to be the Azov fighters. After that, the propaganda video turns to some Chechen militants emerging from the building with children in their arms, ostensibly "liberating" people. The video then abruptly cuts as the fighting goes on.
The Russian defense ministry announced on Friday that its troops have entered the city and are battling in the heart of it, amid fears that it may fall into Putin's hands soon after three weeks of shelling damaged the city's defenses.
If Mariupol falls, it will be the largest city ever taken, but at the cost of nearly utter destruction. Mariupol so far has been the most bombed city in Ukraine. However, Russians have been facing stiff competition from Ukrainian forces there and has lost several armored vehicles and soldiers there.
Warning of More Russian Attacks
The video uploaded on Friday by Kadyrov is like a warning that Russia along with Chechen forces will show more aggression in the coming days as they fight to take control of Ukraine. Moreover, reports are that the Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in Mariupol and are taking each family into account.
It comes after Putin's troops bombed a theatre in Mariupol that was believed to be sheltering over 1,300 people, including pregnant women and children. The word "children" was inscribed in giant white letters in Russian outside the front and back of the building, according to satellite photographs taken two days earlier, according to the Maxar space technology business.
Rescue operations are still on, with several feared dead and trapped in the rubble. Serhiy Taruta, a Ukrainian MP originally from Mariupol, said: "No one understands. "Services that are supposed to help are demolished, rescue and utility services... are physically destroyed."
He added that without swift rescue this would mean that "all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theatre, or have already died".
Mariupol has been under fire for more than two weeks, and the entire neighborhoods have been converted into wasteland. Drone footage revealed the catastrophic devastation in the besieged city, which has seen thousands of civilians perish.
Hundreds of large apartment buildings were burning, sending huge plumes of black smoke into the sky. "Mariupol is now just hell," a local stated.
