Ukraine war: Don’t allow even fly to escape -Putin orders Russian soldiers

By George Aluo

President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian soldiers to ensure that not even a fly escapes from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where the last Ukrainian troops in the city have been holding out against Russia’s invasion.

BBC.com reports that Putin gave out the “even a fly must not escape order” in a televised meeting with his defence minister.

Putin who said there was no need storming the vast plant charged for his forces to “block off the industrial area so that not even a fly can escape”.

He added it would be “impractical” to storm the huge industrial area, where more than 2,000 Ukrainian servicemen are said to remain, and the decision was being made to safeguard the lives of Russian soldiers.

Putin also hailed Russia’s “liberation” of Mariupol after Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told him Russian forces now controlled the Ukrainian port city apart from the plant.

The last Ukrainian fighters are sheltering in the city’s huge steel plant, reportedly with around 1,000 civilians living in dire conditions.