The Evening Wrap: Ukraine defiant as Mariupol teeters on the brink

The battered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces on Sunday after seven weeks under siege, a development that what would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following a botched attempt to storm the capital and the loss of the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship. The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave another deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were “guaranteed to keep their lives,” but Ukraine remained defiant. "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, said. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldn’t be independently verified. Seizing Mariupol would free up Russian forces to weaken and encircle Ukrainian soldiers forces in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has focused its war aims for now and is deploying personnel and equipment withdrawn from the north after the failure to take Kyiv. In a reminder that no part of Ukraine was immune until the war ends, Russian forces carried out new missile strikes on Sunday near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraine’s military capacity before the anticipated assault in the east. After the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia’s military command vowed Friday to step up missile strikes on the capital. The Russian military said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Russia’s stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. China expanding UAV usage network along border, say officials China continues to expand its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) network and usage in areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). There is a significant increase in their use for a variety of tasks from intelligence, surveillance and target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities and logistics support, official sources said citing intelligence inputs. This follows an increasing trend in UAV deployment by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Tibet and along the LAC since the standoff began in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. “It is learnt that flight sorties are being coordinated from a unified command centre and are extensively monitored for further improvement. Efforts are being made to cover all important locations, places in the UAV net for better patrolling and other related activities,” said an official source citing inputs. China is also increasingly deploying its advanced UAVs in Tibet close to the LAC, another official said. In addition, drones have been used for supplying vaccines in the border areas for effective last mile coverage at several locations and especially opposite Arunachal Pradesh. As the armies of India and China prepared for winters in the high–altitude region, China had released videos of swarms of quadcopter drones being used to supply rations and other essential items to personnel deployed close on the border. In line with this, the PLA UAV units have been regularly conducting exercises to finetune their employment. One such exercise was held in February according to inputs during which drones were packed with food, water and medicines for delivery to troops in remote areas. British PM Boris Johnson to meet industrialist Gautam Adani in Gujarat, hold talks with PM Modi British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to meet leading industrialist Gautam Adani in Gujarat during his visit to India which begins on April 21, sources have informed. Announcing the upcoming visit, Mr. Johnson urged that democracies should unite in the face of growing challenges from “autocracies”. The visit is expected to strengthen UK-India ties in the backdrop of Brexit and the unfolding invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Mr. Johnson recently paid a surprise visit to Ukraine as his government continues to oppose Russian actions while India has maintained a neutral position on the matter. “As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world’s largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the U.K. in these uncertain times. My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations _ from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence,” said Mr. Johnson. The Ministry of External Affairs said that during the official engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 22, Mr. Johnson would “review implementation of the Roadmap 2030 and set their vision for further intensifying cooperation across the full spectrum bilateral ties.” The issue of Ukraine is expected to feature prominently during the official exchanges. Mr. Johnson will be the first British Prime Minister to visit Gujarat. Apart from meeting Mr. Adani, the British Prime Minister will also visit GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tech) city, and meet Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel. He will also pay his tributes at the Sabarmati Ashram. Mr. Adani is funding a new gallery to highlight the perils of climate change at the historic Science Museum of London. The gallery _ Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery _ was announced last October when Mr. Adani had a lunch meeting with Mr. Johnson. Russia sanctions to dominate BRICS summit Weeks after the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Delhi, India has agreed to attend a virtual summit of leaders of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa grouping, likely to be held at the end of June, sources here have confirmed. The dates of the meeting, that will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same platform as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of Brazil and South Africa for the first time since the Ukraine war began, are still being finalised, the sources said, although June 23-24 have been suggested as dates for the summit. India hosted last year’s BRICS summit, which was also held virtually, and attended by the five leaders. This is the first summit hosted by China since the tensions broke out at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) due to the PLA’s transgressions in April 2020. Mr. Yi visited Delhi last month, which was seen as possibly heralding a gradual normalisation of ties. His visit was notably the first since the LAC stand-off began. Significantly, leaders of the G-7 grouping comprising Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.S. will meet in the Bavarian Alps on June 26-28, just a couple of days after the proposed BRICS summit. It is unclear whether PM Modi, who is already travelling for a bilateral meeting to Germany on May 1, is on the list of special invitees to the G-7 summit, which is still being prepared, officials said. In Brief A day after communal clashes broke out in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, the Delhi Police on Sunday said it had arrested 20 persons, 15 of whom are Muslims, in connection with the case and booked them for rioting and criminal conspiracy. Police also said that two juveniles have also been apprehended. Officers said three firearms and five swords have been recovered from the accused persons. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 17 APRIL 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Ukraine defiant as key port Mariupol teeters on the brink The battered port city of [Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces]( on Sunday after seven weeks under siege, a development that what would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following a botched attempt to storm the capital and the loss of the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship. The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Russia gave another deadline for their surrender, saying those who put down their weapons were “guaranteed to keep their lives,” but Ukraine remained defiant. [An elderly resident stands behind a destroyed part of the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine on April 16, 2022. ] "All those who will continue resistance will be destroyed,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, said. He said intercepted communications indicated there were about 400 foreign mercenaries along with the Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel mill, a claim that couldn’t be independently verified. Seizing Mariupol would free up Russian forces to weaken and encircle Ukrainian soldiers forces in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has focused its war aims for now and is deploying personnel and equipment withdrawn from the north after the failure to take Kyiv. In a reminder that no part of Ukraine was immune until the war ends, Russian forces carried out new missile strikes on Sunday near Kyiv and elsewhere in an apparent effort to weaken Ukraine’s military capacity before the anticipated assault in the east. After the humiliating loss of the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, Russia’s military command vowed Friday to step up missile strikes on the capital. The Russian military said Sunday that it had attacked an ammunition plant near Kyiv overnight with precision-guided missiles, the third such strike in as many days. Russia’s stepped-up attacks on Kyiv came after it accused Ukraine on Thursday of wounding seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed hitting targets in Russia. China expanding UAV usage network along border, say officials China [continues to expand its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) network and usage in areas close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC)](. There is a significant increase in their use for a variety of tasks from intelligence, surveillance and target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities and logistics support, official sources said citing intelligence inputs. This follows an increasing trend in UAV deployment by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Tibet and along the LAC since the standoff began in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. “It is learnt that flight sorties are being coordinated from a unified command centre and are extensively monitored for further improvement. Efforts are being made to cover all important locations, places in the UAV net for better patrolling and other related activities,” said an official source citing inputs. China is also increasingly deploying its advanced UAVs in Tibet close to the LAC, another official said. In addition, drones have been used for supplying vaccines in the border areas for effective last mile coverage at several locations and especially opposite Arunachal Pradesh. As the armies of India and China prepared for winters in the high–altitude region, China had released videos of swarms of quadcopter drones being used to supply rations and other essential items to personnel deployed close on the border. In line with this, the PLA UAV units have been regularly conducting exercises to finetune their employment. One such exercise was held in February according to inputs during which drones were packed with food, water and medicines for delivery to troops in remote areas. British PM Boris Johnson to meet industrialist Gautam Adani in Gujarat, hold talks with PM Modi British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is [expected to meet leading industrialist Gautam Adani in Gujarat]( during his visit to India which begins on April 21, sources have informed. Announcing the upcoming visit, Mr. Johnson urged that democracies should unite in the face of growing challenges from “autocracies”. The visit is expected to strengthen UK-India ties in the backdrop of Brexit and the unfolding invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Mr. Johnson recently paid a surprise visit to Ukraine as his government continues to oppose Russian actions while India has maintained a neutral position on the matter. “As we face threats to our peace and prosperity from autocratic states, it is vital that democracies and friends stick together. India, as a major economic power and the world’s largest democracy, is a highly valued strategic partner for the U.K. in these uncertain times.  My visit to India will deliver on the things that really matter to the people of both our nations _ from job creation and economic growth, to energy security and defence,” said Mr. Johnson. The Ministry of External Affairs said that during the official engagement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 22, Mr. Johnson would “review implementation of the Roadmap 2030 and set their vision for further intensifying cooperation across the full spectrum bilateral ties.” The issue of Ukraine is expected to feature prominently during the official exchanges. Mr. Johnson will be the first British Prime Minister to visit Gujarat. Apart from meeting Mr. Adani, the British Prime Minister will also visit GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tech) city, and meet Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel. He will also pay his tributes at the Sabarmati Ashram. Mr. Adani is funding a new gallery to highlight the perils of climate change at the historic Science Museum of London. The gallery _ Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery _ was announced last October when Mr. Adani had a lunch meeting with Mr. Johnson. Russia sanctions to dominate BRICS summit Weeks after the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Delhi, [India has agreed to attend a virtual summit of leaders of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa grouping]( likely to be held at the end of June, sources here have confirmed. The dates of the meeting, that will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same platform as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of Brazil and South Africa for the first time since the Ukraine war began, are still being finalised, the sources said, although June 23-24 have been suggested as dates for the summit. India hosted last year’s BRICS summit, which was also held virtually, and attended by the five leaders. This is the first summit hosted by China since the tensions broke out at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) due to the PLA’s transgressions in April 2020. Mr. Yi visited Delhi last month, which was seen as possibly heralding a gradual normalisation of ties. His visit was notably the first since the LAC stand-off began. Significantly, leaders of the G-7 grouping comprising Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.S. will meet in the Bavarian Alps on June 26-28, just a couple of days after the proposed BRICS summit. It is unclear whether PM Modi, who is already travelling for a bilateral meeting to Germany on May 1, is on the list of special invitees to the G-7 summit, which is still being prepared, officials said. In Brief [Polce personnel keep vigil at Jahangirpuri in New Delhi on April 17, 2022 after clashes broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. ] A day after communal clashes broke out in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, the Delhi Police on Sunday said it had arrested 20 persons, 15 of whom are Muslims, in connection with the case and booked them for rioting and criminal conspiracy. Police also said that [two juveniles have also been apprehended](. Officers said three firearms and five swords have been recovered from the accused persons. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow  Today‘s Top Picks [[Leaked stamp scuttled govt.’s plan to honour Narasimha Rao] Leaked stamp scuttled govt.’s plan to honour Narasimha Rao]( [[A symbol of love between a planter and his horse] A symbol of love between a planter and his horse]( [[N. Sankar: An innings of understated achievement ends] N. 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