John Kirby explains Mariupol’s significance as a ‘major economic port city’ for Ukraine, potential ‘land bridge’ for Russia

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss what’s at stake in the battle for Mariupol amid “increased activity in the air and through artillery strikes” by the Russians. “It's a major economic port city in Ukraine and clearly it has significant cultural value,” says Kirby. “But for the Russians, it just geographically important for a land bridge to get to Crimea. And if, in fact, their goal is to cut off the Donbas region and to fix Ukrainian forces there so that they can't be used elsewhere in the country to defend themselves, then you can see the logic of trying to take Mariupol.”April 18, 2022