The Russians were not allowed to exchange Novoazovsk for the Donetsk airport, and they will not take Mariupol - Taruta
Moscow – Kyiv, October 29 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Shtamm) – The war won't end until Putin orders the border closed. Someone in Kyiv thwarted the agreement to exchange Novoazovsk for Donetsk airport, and the Russians won't take Mariupol without a navy and air force. This was stated by former Donetsk Oblast governor and oligarch Sergei Taruta to Kommersant .
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“Now, no matter what you do, they will still try to fight until the border is closed,” Taruta describes the situation in Donbass. – We need a joint dialogue, after which Vladimir Putin would give the command to close the border. We have 409 km of open border. There is a deliberate and cynical policy to ensure that militants move here. In the area of Novoazovsk, Kominternovo there are constant exercises, the Russian military is training militants, mainly Caucasians, to make a rotation. Because of this, the OSCE mission, which is supposed to monitor the border, is being delayed. As I understand it, until all the military are replaced by militants, observers will not be able to go there.”
According to the oligarch, who was elected to the Verkhovna Rada from the Mariupol single-mandate constituency, “the option was considered that Novoazovsk would be given to us, and part of the territories in the north would be given to us.” “The point was that we would cede the (Donetsk) airport,” Taruta clarifies. “I don’t understand why they refuse at the top, but there are such negotiations, they were, they agreed on this, but for some reason they don’t want to give in on this side. Moreover, there was an agreement that first they would cede it to us, and then we would give the airport back. As I understand it, they don’t want to give it back and that’s why they attack the airport every day. But why is it needed if all the infrastructure there has been destroyed and it is unfit for any flights?” the ex-governor of the Donetsk region is perplexed.
Taruta says that now in Mariupol, located next to Novoazovsky, occupied by the “army of Novorossiya,” “sabotage groups are constantly being sent, whose task is not only military operations, but also ideological: to spread gossip and rumors.” “People are afraid of this. When they hear every day about exercises taking place in the Shirokino region, where militants are being trained, it does not leave them indifferent. When checkpoints are shelled, civilians are also one of the scenarios. Why was it necessary to kill people in Sartan and fire at the funeral procession? They saw the drone circling. Why was this done? To destabilize the situation there. As soon as the shots started, calls began to be made throughout the village to fight the authorities. But the military and experts arrived and showed: there was a shell sticking out and it was clear that it had come from Kominternovo. The questions were immediately cleared up.”
However, Mariupol, according to the oligarch politician, is well fortified. “With the current defense system without the use of aviation and naval forces, it will be very difficult to take the city,” says Taruta.
Russians weren't allowed to exchange Novoazovsk for Donetsk airport, and they won't take Mariupol – Taruta