Chechen forces have been stalking the shell-scarred streets of Mariupol, engaged in violent firefights as they attempt to capture the beleaguered city.

The dreaded troops, armed with machine guns and rocket launchers, have been employed as a public relations tool in Vladimir Putin’s battle, and photographs of them in the city indicate that the dictator feels he is on the approach of capturing it.

To bolster Russian morale, propaganda stations have already shown images and films of the legendary fighters in occupied countries.

Some Chechen soldiers are fighting with Russian troops, who fought two wars against Chechnya, a Muslim republic in southern Russia, between 1994 and 2000.
The unit commander Zamid Chalaev, who is suspected of human rights crimes, was among the Chechen fighters photographed in Mariupol.

Mariupol has held out for almost a month thanks to intense Ukrainian resistance, despite Russia’s merciless shelling, which may have killed up to 20,000 civilians, according to one Ukrainian official.

Russia, on the other hand, has finally invaded the city centre this week, and some experts predict its collapse is inevitable.

It comes after the invading troops were accused of stealing 14 tonnes of humanitarian assistance bound for the southern port, while a convoy of 45 buses carrying medical supplies was purportedly barred from entering on Thursday night.

Soldiers are claimed to have halted 12 buses in Berdyansk, west of Mariupol, and confiscated the equipment. The coaches were to enter Mariupol and pick up people.

‘The city remains restricted to access and exceedingly risky to escape by private transport,’ said Petro Andryushchenko, Mariupol’s mayor’s counsel, yesterday.

‘Russian forces have explicitly refused to allow any humanitarian supplies, even in modest amounts, into the city since Thursday.

‘The motives for such measures remain unknown, but this is disheartening.’ We don’t believe the Russians have a genuine willingness to let Mariupol inhabitants to flee to other Ukrainian-controlled territories.’

The Red Cross also had three buses travelling to Mariupol yesterday, but it was unclear whether they arrived last night.

‘The situation is horrifying and deteriorating, and it is a humanitarian necessity that people be allowed to leave and assistance supplies be let in,’ said a spokesperson.

Up to 170,000 citizens are still stuck in Mariupol, and survivors have reported seeing remains strewn throughout the streets.

The municipal council announced yesterday that it requires $10 billion (£7.6 billion) to rehabilitate local infrastructure and requested that Russia pay for “all of their misery.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is concentrating and planning “strong strikes” in Ukraine’s east and south, including Mariupol.