BERDYANSK, Ukraine—Pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian Azov Regiment have been battling over the town of Shyrokyne for weeks.
The small town on the Sea of Azov is only about nine miles east of Mariupol, an industrial port city on the sea that is considered by some Ukrainian military officials to be the last obstacle before a separatist breakthrough that could advance all the way to Crimea.
Shyrokyne is located on a strategic high point from which separatists would be able to strike Ukrainian checkpoints around Mariupol if they gained control. But neither side appears willing to back down, and on March 30 …read more
Source: Newsweek