DONETSK - Militia units in Donbas claim to have taken control of the Donetsk-Mariupol motor road and a number of other roads leading to Mariupol, the second largest city in Donetsk oblast, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia headquarters reported on Sept. 2.
“Militia forces fully control the Donetsk-Mariupol road in the south, although the village of Manhush remains under the Ukrainian government forces’ control. All roads connecting Mariupol with other cities are fully under the militia forces’ control, which constitutes the so-called Mariupol entrapment. Only the Azov and Shakhtarsk territorial defense battalions and some Interior Forces troops remain in Mariupol now,” it said.
Witnesses said exchanges of fire have been heard on the outskirts of Mariupol over the past several nights. Ukrainian army units are continuing to reinforce their positions at the entrances to the city, mining the approaches to it and installing antitank obstacles.
