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EXPLAINER: Why the battle for Mariupol’s steel mill matters

FILE - A woman reacts as she stands with her daughter as she waits for her husband to flee a burning apartment in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 13, 2022. Since March 1, the Russian military has pummeled Mariupol with fierce artillery barrages and air raids that have flattened most of what once was a bustling seaside city. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) FILE - People look at a burning apartment building in a yard after shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, Sunday, March 13, 2022. Since March 1, the Russian military has pummeled Mariupol with fierce artillery barrages and air raids that have flattened most of what once was a bustling seaside city. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) FILE - Serhii, father of Iliya, cries over his teenage son's lifeless body on a stretcher at a maternity hospital converted into a medical ward during the war with Russia in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key objective for Russia since the start of the Feb. 24 invasion. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File) FILE - A Russian military convoy moves on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 16, 2022. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key objective for Russia since the start of the Feb. 24 invasion. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov, File) FILE - A view inside the Mariupol Drama Theater that was damaged during fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022. Since March 1, the Russian military has relentlessly pummeled Mariupol with fierce artillery barrages and air raids that have flattened most of what once was a bustling seaside city. The theater was being used as a shelter when it was hit. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov, File) FILE - A man walks in front of harbor cranes at the port in Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key objective for Russia since the start of the Feb. 24 invasion. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File) FILE - Servicemen of the militia from the Donetsk People's Republic walk past damaged apartment buildings near the Illich Iron & Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, the second-largest metallurgical enterprise in Ukraine, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Saturday, April 16, 2022. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key objective for Russia since the start of the Feb. 24 invasion. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov) FILE - This satellite image from Maxar Technologies on Saturday, March 19, 2022, shows the aftermath of the airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, and the area around it. Since March 1, the Russian military has pummeled Mariupol with fierce artillery barrages and air raids that have flattened most of what once was a bustling seaside city. Among the buildings hit was the theater that was being used as a shelter. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP, File)