Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin. File photoDONETSK, Apr 26The head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said that he considers it expedient to establish a medal «For the Liberation of Mariupol» to reward the military who distinguished themselves in battles for the city. «, — Pushilin wrote in his Telegram channel. He added that the battle for Mariupol will take a special place in the history of the Donbass liberation operation and noted the massive manifestations of heroism on the part of the DPR military. At the time of the proclamation of the DPR in 2014, Mariupol with a population of about 450 thousand people was the second city of the republic after Donetsk, but in June of the same year, the Ukrainian security forces regained control of Mariupol. On March 7, 12 days after the start of the Russian special operation to demilitarize Ukraine, the deputy commander of the Vostok battalion, Alexander Semyonov, announced that the city was surrounded, and a cleansing of its individual districts had begun. Currently, the allied forces of the DPR and Russia are fighting for the final liberation of the city. On April 16, the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, announced that the entire city territory had been cleared of the Ukrainian army, foreign mercenaries and neo-Nazis from the Azov regiment (against whose militants a criminal case was initiated in Russia). The remnants of the Ukrainian group are blocked at the Azovstal metallurgical plant. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as of March 25, the main tasks of the first stage were completed — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass. On April 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the start of the next phase of the special operation.
