On April 22, Chechen President Kadyrov unveiled a video of "Chechen army celebrating victory in Mariupol." Earlier, Kadyrov had said that Chechen soldiers would definitely try to complete the military mission and take the entire Azov steel plant.
On the 21st, after Putin asked the Russian army and Chechnya to "encircle but not attack" the steel plant, and persuaded the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion to lay down their weapons and surrender on their own initiative, the Chechen army stopped the onslaught on the steel plant.
According to a video released by Kadyrov, Chechen troops held aloft the Russian flag and Chechen flag, declaring that special military operations in Mariupol had ended. After Putin adjusted his tactics, some Russian and Chechen troops have gone to Donbass or the southern Ukrainian front and are about to enter a new round of fighting.
The question is, when the morale of the Chechen army is high and Shoigu said that "it will take the Azov steel plant in 3 to 4 days", why did Putin suddenly call a halt to military operations?
There are no more than 3 reasons.
First, Putin knows that the Azov Steel Plant is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the underground fortress that is tens of meters deep is even more able to resist the indiscriminate bombardment of fortifications. During this time, in order to annihilate the stubborn Azov battalion to the end, the Russian army has dispatched weapons including "Tulip" mortars, Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, ground drills and other weapons, and almost used tactical nuclear weapons, but still did not achieve the expected results.
This means that if the Russian army storms the steel plant, it is very likely that ground troops will be dispatched, one by one, deep into the basement, and fight with the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion. As a result, the Russian army will pay huge casualties, and this situation of both sides will be injured, which is not what Putin wants to see.
In Putin's view, since the Azov steel plant has become a "turtle in an urn" and the Azov battalion has no way to retreat, why not extend the timeline and use the tactic of encircling but not attacking?
Second, Putin wants to add leverage to the battles of Donbass and Kherson. Many of the people who besieged the Azov Steel Plant were Russian and Chechen special forces, and if these ace troops were sent to Donbass, the chances of victory for the Russian army would certainly increase.
Under the premise that the overall situation in Mariupol has been decided, instead of continuing to confront the Azov battalion, it is better to change strategy and take the lead in the donbass and the southern ukrainian front.
The Russian Defense Ministry and Chechnya revealed that the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion have begun to infighting, and the main war faction and the surrender faction have diverged, and they are facing the dilemma of running out of ammunition. Continuing to encircle and not attack can divide the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion, which are already in harmony with each other, and achieve the goal of subjugating the army without fighting.
Third, Putin wants to create bargaining chips. Russia has repeatedly revealed that there may be NATO officers in the Azov steel plant, so Ukraine will send helicopters and cargo ships to help the commander of the Azov battalion escape the battlefield.
If it can catch the so-called "big fish" alive, Russia can take the initiative in the public opinion war and directly find trouble for NATO.
On the other hand, Russia's bargaining chips will also become more, after all, the steel plant still has more than 2,000 defenders, if the collective surrender,
The morale of the Ukrainian army will be hit hard, which is not the result that Kiev wants to see.
Sure enough, after some of the Ukrainian army surrendered and the Azov battalion began to fight, Kiev began to change its attitude. Ukraine said it was willing to "negotiate unconditionally with Russia" in order to allow the defenders and civilians of Mariupol to leave the steel mill safely.
This means that Putin's layout of "putting long lines to catch big fish" is indeed very clever.
It was at this time that Canada revealed a blockbuster news. On April 21, Canada's Defense Ministry said that Trevor, a former army commander with 30 years of experience in the army, had retired on April 5.
As for where Trevo went, the Canadian Defense Ministry did not disclose.
Western media said that relevant sources revealed that after retiring on April 5, Trevo chose to go to Ukraine and participate in the battle against the Russian army.
As for how Trevo is now and where he is, the source declined to disclose.
Lieutenant General Trevo is a prestigious and well-known general in Canada, and was once considered a candidate for Canada's top military commander and chief of defence staff. However, shortly after being appointed Commander of the Canadian Army, Trevo abruptly retired and moved to Ukraine, where Canada declined to disclose Trevo's specific location.
This makes one wonder: Where is Trevo hiding?
Trevor
For Putin, if nato's "big fish" can be caught alive at the Azov steel plant, the significance is self-evident, which means that NATO has joined the battle.
To some extent, the reason why Ukraine is eager to negotiate with Russia, and even expressed its willingness to exchange Putin's close friend and Ukrainian opposition leader Medvychuk for the Mariupol defenders, is likely to be related to NATO's pressure on Ukraine.
Because the United States and NATO do not want To be found by Russia to "confirm NATO's participation in the war" supporting materials. Don't forget, NATO has called on Russia to exercise restraint and let the Ukrainian people evacuate the Azov steel mill, which contains Azov battalions and Ukrainian soldiers posing as civilians and preparing to flee.
In Mariupol, the Russians also captured British mercenaries, and in Ukraine, the Russians captured French soldiers, but compared with the Canadian lieutenant general, this result can be said to be worthless.
Of course, the possibility of western media releasing smoke bombs is not ruled out, and whether there are so-called senior NATO officers in the Azov Steel Works will be known after a while. As for whether the "big fish" fled the battlefield in chaos, no one knows, after all, the strength of the United States and NATO in collecting intelligence cannot be underestimated.
The Azov battalion has not yet surrendered, Putin is putting a long line to catch big fish, and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be.