The Ukrainian Defense Minister specifies that there are about 10,000 Russian soldiers near Mariupol

Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine

More than 20,000 people have been killed by Russian forces, according to the mayor of Mariupol

MADRID, 14 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov has specified that around 10,000 Russian soldiers are currently stationed near Mariupol and has asked partner countries for long-range weapons to “contain” Moscow’s forces.

“We can contain them, but we need to drive them away. For this we need multiple rocket launchers with a range of more than 40 kilometers. We need anti-ship missiles to stop them in Odessa and in the Black Sea (and) we need a lot of tanks, armored vehicles and 155mm caliber artillery.” , Reznikov has detailed.

The head of the Ukrainian Defense portfolio has thus addressed the partner countries from Gostomel, where he has emphasized that “joint forces” are working in the Donbas region to “expel the enemy”. “We are at war, and therefore it will be a very, very bloody affair,” he added.

According to different Ukrainian media, Reznikov has also assured that the “Kremlin’s plan” is to surround the Ukrainian troops. “They will continue to bombard Mariupol and other cities,” he said.

In its latest report, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have noted that Russian forces “continue to focus their efforts on capturing some neighborhoods in Mariupol.” The city’s mayor, Vadim Boichenko, has assured that “the occupants” have brought “mobile crematoria to the city” to hide their war crimes.

“According to our estimates, more than 20,000 people have been killed by enemy troops,” he said, adding that these thirteen crematoria have been confirmed by Ukrainian intelligence, as well as in Chernigov or Novoaidar, as reported by the Ukrainian Channel 24.

“The Russian Armed Forces use mobile crematoria to destroy the bodies of Russian soldiers, in order to hide the real number of their soldiers,” the country’s intelligence has also assured in a statement on its official Facebook profile.