(03-21-2022, 12:37 AM)putnam6 Wrote: Mariupol the home of the Azov "Nazi" Battalion is being pummeled, that's their home base.
Russian officials demand Ukrainian forces surrender Mariupol by Monday morning
According to a statement from the Russian National Defense Management Center, Russia has given Ukraine a deadline of 5 am on Monday 21 March to agree to surrender its eastern port city Mariupol. Russian officials said they will open humanitarian corridors for civilians to exit Mariupol at 10 am Moscow time in exchange for Ukrainian forces laying down their weapons, Reuters and the Guardian report.
President Duda: According to @ZelenskyyUa, Russians from Syria are coming to Ukraine and mercenaries from the Middle East supporting RU. Syrians are the most numerous. In this context, more NATO assistance to Ukraine is needed. But this also illustrates Russia's weakness and is an interesting signal for Turkey
The use of middle eastern mercenaries on Russia's side and the Azov on Ukraine's side isn't due to weaknesses on either side . It's because the largest Majority of Russians and Ukrainians are all of the Orthodox faith, and both sides are trying to get around the very problematic issue of having brothers in faith killing brothers in faith on the battlefield.
There is an issue with both sides choice of mercenary with which to wage this war, but knowing more about the Orthodox it's understandable that neither government actually wants to stand off too much on the battlefield, brother to brother.
If you want to delve more into the part the Orthodox faith is playing in this I am happy to send some interesting links to read discussion.