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Developments on the Eastern front lines are slow and static. However, there is some movement both in Mariupol and in the eastern direction as a whole.
The destruction of the Azov regiment and the remaining AFU forces continues in Mariupol. On March 30, Russian troops took control over the Azov headquarters.
On the Donbass front, situation remains the same. Positional battles and small advances are reported. There was some progress in the Izyum area. The Russians are slightly moving closer to Sloviansk. Near Kramatorsk, the AFU blew up a dam to slow down the Russian offensive in this direction. In the Lysychansk-Severodonetsk agglomeration, there are no changes on the front lines.
DPR and Russian troops continue the mop up operations in Mariupol. DPR servicemen are mostly concentrated on moping up of the left-bank area of the city.
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The DPR People’s Militia, supported by the Russian Navy, continue their offensive in Mariupol. Armored personnel carriers and tanks are actively used in the fighting to storm and cover the troops.
As DPR forces advance deep into the city, they discover more proofs of crimes committed by the Ukrainian nationalists against civilians. It was discovered that the Ukrainian military used Tochka-U missiles in the residential areas of Mariupol. The footage confirms the fact that the AFU and nationalist forces shelled civilian areas in the city with such type of missiles during the battles before the regions were secured by the DPR and civilians were evacuated.
One of the most significant DPR achievement in the recent days was the capture of one of the Azov regiment’s outposts. Pro-Russian troops claimed control over a strategically important “fortress”. After strenuous fighting, only separate militarized groups remained in the city.
During these days also the Russian army took several military-industrial facilities and factories. The footage proved that the Russian National Guard servicemen were deployed at ‘the Satellite’ plant in Mariupol.
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However, not everything is as good for the Russian military in Mariupol as it is presented by some media. One of the DPR PM soldiers was interviewed in Mariupol and he gave a commentary on the matter. He noted, “The media presents the successes of military operations too rosily. But in fact, the fighting is very fierce. We have to fight for each house separately.” He noted that the Azov nationalist are well equipped are changing fast their positions. The claims that 80% of the city are under the DPR control are exaggerated, he added.
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The humanitarian situation in Mariupol was one of the main topics during the phone talks between the Russian President Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on March 29th. The Russian side declared that France would not be able to conduct any humanitarian operations in Mariupol. Later, on March 30, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that there was no progress on the agreement over the humanitarian operation in Mariupol during the phone call.
In conclusion, the situation in Mariupol and on the Eastern front lines in general is very complex. The military developments are extremely slow, positional fighting continues, Russian and DPR forces face fierce resistance of the AFU units. The Russian Army and its allies continues to take control over new settlements.
Following another round of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations, which was held in Istanbul on March 29, representative of the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that “the Russian military actions will be limited in the Kiev and Chernihiv regions”. The Russian pressure around the capital is reducing, what is a clear sign that a part of Russian forces will likely be sent to the Donbass region, where the largest AFU grouping is yet to be surrounded.
