THE siege of Mariupol is a powerful beacon of Ukrainian resistance which will continue even if the city falls in the next few days, according to the former head of counter-terrorism at the Ministry of Defence.
Major General Chip Chapman told GB News: “It’s now day 72. Putin declared victory on day 58 and said not a fly would get out of there, so it was premature in terms of the fighting capacity of the Ukraine and a lot of the stalled operations
“I think it will fall and Putin will probably declare a victory anyway ahead of the 9th May Victory Day, so that he’s got something to sell on that day.
“That is that he has raised up and gathered in the Russian people, he’s prioritised those in the Donbass and the Crimea has enlarged his territory and he’s got that land corridor which Mariupol represents. That’s significant, obviously.”
He was speaking on Breakfast with Stephen and Anne on GB News.
Major General Chapman said that, though the Russians have failed to achieve their main goals in Ukraine, the siege of Mariupol will be seen as a beacon of Ukrainian resistance.
“I think it can be actually spun the other way – it is a powerful symbol of Ukrainian resistance and you can counterpoise that against the Russians actually abandoning ship on the Moskva.
‘It really just shows the Russians’ ability to reach out and destroy rather than their ability to capture and then hold and govern, and that is their dilemma for the future, even though they might be successful in the Donbass.
“And along that corridor to Crimea, they will always have a flank which is open and that gives them a great difficulty for the future.”
