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On April 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to discuss the Russian military’s assault on the Ukrainian port of Mariupol.Russian forces launched a massive ground and aerial attack there in early March. The city on the Azov Sea had a pre-invasion population of more than 400,000. Geographically, it is key to the Kremlin’s goal of establishing a land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.At the meeting, Putin and Shoigu each made false or misleading claims.For one, Putin prematurely claimed victory even though Ukrainian forces continued to fight and work to free trapped civilians at the sprawling Azovstal steel complex.The work of the armed forces to liberate Mariupol has been a success. Congratulations
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