The Ukrainian military is unable to break through to Mariupol, not even the U.S. army can do it, said Oleksiy Arestovich, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office.
"The closest units of the AFU are fighting hard north of Volnovakha. They are being attacked by superior enemy forces, and there is no question of any kind of deblocking of Mariupol there. They should fight back there themselves," Arestovich pointed out in his video message.
He explained that other units are 100-120-150 km away from Mariupol, they also hold the defense and are unable to break through superior enemy forces. Even if they overcome this obstacle, they will not be able to pass "120 kilometers in the bare steppe," because they will be exposed to constant strikes by Russian aviation, which can quickly replenish ammunition from airfields in Crimea and the Rostov region, Arestovich stressed.
On Friday, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov reported that units of the Russian Armed Forces and the DNR were tightening the encirclement ring in Mariupol and fighting in the city center against Ukrainian nationalists.
Later, it became known that fighting continued in the central part of Mariupol, with the nationalists blocking the main roads of the city in this direction with barricades of equipment and vehicles.
"No army in the world, not even the American army, will pass with the forces we have," he said.
The adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential office stressed that the area also has "very strong air defense" on the ground and in the sky.
"Moreover, there were attempts to provide air support, and they were, to put it mildly, unsuccessful. Therefore, there is no military solution for Mariupol at the moment," he said.
"All cries about military assistance to Mariupol - about the blockade - come from people who either do not understand the military situation due to the fact that they are normal people and cannot know the military nuances, or from people who understand the military situation very well and engage in pure speculation," Arestovich said.
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