Mariupol capture could be ‘a crucial turning point’ for Ukraine-Russia conflict

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As Russian claimed that its troops had cleared the urban area of Mariupol, the strategically important port city in southeastern Ukraine, setting a deadline for Ukraine troops in the city to surrender, some experts considered that the battle could be seen as a crucial turning point for the Ukraine-Russia conflict that would have last for two months. Taking Mariupol will help lay the foundation for Russia's next phased military operations in the Donbass and taking the port city could create a land corridor from Lugansk to Donetsk to Crimea.

The US and NATO's continuous shipments of weapons to Ukraine would only lead to unpredictable consequences, prolonging the Russia-Ukraine conflict and fanning the flames, which will also affect the European security framework in a long run, experts warned. 

Russia gave holdout Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum on Sunday to lay down their arms in Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces had nearly completely controlled in what would be its biggest capture of the conflict that last nearly two months, Reuters reported.

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