Mariupol has become the most bombed and devastated city in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. It has become the most important part of Moscow's Ukraine campaign, but why is that?
There are four reasons why this port city could be a strategic victory for Russia and a major setback for Ukraine.
1: Acquisition of land corridor between Crimea and Donbass
Geographically, Mariupol is like a dot on the map, but the island still stands like a rock in front of the Russian forces advancing beyond Crimea.
Russian forces are advancing northeast to meet their allies and pro-Russian rebels in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Sir Richard Barnes, the former commander of Britain's Joint Forces Command, says Russia's capture of Mariupol is key to Russia's invade.
"Once the Russians establish a land route between Crimea and Russia, they will consider it a major strategic victory and the victory of the invade."
If Mariupol is annexed, Russia's occupation of 80% of Ukraine's Black Sea coast will be completed, which will cut off Ukraine's maritime trade and cut it off from the rest of the world.
For the past three weeks, the defense forces have been keeping large numbers of Russian troops busy, keeping the invading forces at bay. But after Russia's immediate failure to seize the city, Russian generals have adopted a medieval siege strategy in the 21st century.
They rained down artillery, rockets and missiles on Mariupol, destroying more than 90 percent of the city.
In addition, they have cut off access to electricity, water, food, medicine and heating, which has now led to a humanitarian crisis.
Moscow is blaming Ukraine for the crisis, which did not surrender until 5am on Monday.
A Ukrainian lawmaker has said Russia wants to "starve Mariupol".
Ukraine has vowed to defend the city until the last soldier. Maybe it's time to dump her and move on. Russian troops are slowly advancing on the city center, and in the absence of a viable peace agreement, Russia is likely to intensify the bombing, with little difference between the armed forces and the civilian population of more than 200,000. Go
If and when Russia captures Mariupol, its 6,000 troops will support Russian forces on other fronts in Ukraine.
They can be deployed to many other places, for example
In the northeast, to encircle and harm Ukrainian troops fighting pro-Russian rebels in the Donbass region.
To the west, to advance towards Odessa, Ukraine's last major route to the Black Sea.
To the northwest is the town of Dnipro
2: The Ukrainian economy could be ruined
Mariupol is a strategically important port city on the Sea of Azov, part of the Black Sea.
Due to its deep berths, it is the largest port in the Sea of Azov and has large iron and steel mills. Under normal circumstances steel, coal and corn go from Mariupol to the Middle East and beyond.
For eight years since Moscow occupied Crimea since 2014, the city has been sandwiched between Russian forces on the Crimean peninsula and pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk.
The ouster of Mariupol would be a major blow to Ukraine's remnant economy.
3: There will be an opportunity for propaganda
Mariupol is the stronghold of a Ukrainian militia called the Azov Brigade. It should be noted that the Sea of Azov connects Mariupol with the rest of the Black Sea. The Azov Brigade has far-right elements, including modern-day Nazis.
Although they are a very small part of the Ukrainian forces, they are still a useful propaganda weapon for Moscow. Russia tells its people that young Russian soldiers have gone to liberate Ukraine from modern-day Nazism.
If Russia manages to capture a large number of Azov brigade fighters alive, it is likely that they will be paraded on Russian state media to tarnish the image of Ukraine and its government.
4: Enthusiasm will be high
If Russia captures Mariupol, it will be psychologically effective for both warring nations.
Russia's victory in Mariupol will allow the Kremlin to show its population through state media that it is achieving its goals in Ukraine.
For President Putin, the conflict seems personal and, for his part, has a historical reason.They consider Ukraine's Black Sea coast to be part of the new Russia, the lands that were part of the Russian Empire in the 18th century.
Putin wants to revive the idea of "saving the Russians from the tyranny of pro-Western governments in Kiev." Mariupol currently stands in their way to that end.
But for Ukraine, losing Mariupol would be a huge blow. Not only militarily and economically, but also for men and women fighting for the defense of their country. Mariupol will be the first major Russian-occupied city after Kherson. Kherson is a strategically less important city than Mariupol, and hardly anyone defends it.
This is another aspect of courage and that is resistance.
Mariupol has put up a strong fight so far, but look at the price. The city is in ruins and has largely been reduced to rubble. The city will stand in the ranks of Grozny and Aleppo, where Russia bombed so much that they were forced to surrender. Other Ukrainian cities have a clear program that if you resist like Mariupol, the same can happen to you.
General Sir Richard Barnes said: "The Russians could not enter Mariupol on foot, nor could they come here with their tanks, so they have turned the city into a pile of rubble. And for the Russians, and wherever the place is important, we should be prepared to see the same scenes there. "
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