The inevitable fall of Mariupol — Ukraine’s long-suffering eastern port on the Sea of Azov, now besieged, pounded to dust and soaked in the blood of its residents — will carry with it a heavy symbolism, the kind observers say western allies need to reflect upon urgently.
Already, it has the potential to change the trajectory of war. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky warned this week that peace talks will end if Moscow “eliminates” the city’s defenders.
More than that, the end of the merciless blockade of Mariupol will free up Russian combat forces to concentrate on a growing offensive in the eastern Donbas
