The defenders of Azovstal broke the enemy's operational plans to seize eastern Ukraine, drew back huge enemy forces, and proved the real "combat effectiveness" of the Russians - it changed the course of the war. Mikhail Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President, wrote this on his Twitter.

"83 days of defense of Mariupol will go down in history as the Thermopylae of the XXI century. The defenders of Azovstal broke the enemy's operational plans to seize eastern Ukraine, drew back huge enemy forces and proved to the world the real "fighting ability" of the Russians. It completely changed the course of the war," the advisor wrote.