Russia is bombing Mariupol into the “ashes of a dead land”, its city council has said, as an MP accused Moscow of trying to starve the besieged Ukrainian city into surrender.
Officials said Russian forces had dropped two large bombs on the southern port city, but gave no details of casualties or damage.
“Once again it is clear that the occupiers are not interested in the city of Mariupol. They want to level it to the ground and make it the ashes of a dead land,” the council said in a statement.
Ukraine live updates: Thousands of children ‘kidnapped by Russia’
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0:52
Mayor: ‘I was exchanged for nine Russian soldiers’
Ukrainian forces are still holding off Russian attempts to capture Mariupol – where hundreds of thousands of residents are believed to be trapped with little food, water and power amid a daily barrage of Russian attacks since the war began.
“There is nothing left there,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a address to the Italian parliament on Tuesday, as his government urged Russia to allow humanitarian supplies into the city and to let desperate civilians out.
The UK Ministry of Defence said it had proed Ukraine with “over 4,000 NLAWs” (anti-tank weapons) to “continue their resistance against Russian aggression”.
Other key developments:
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry claims thousands of Ukrainian children have been “illegally” removed from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calls for an end to the “absurd war”, warning the conflict is “going nowhere, fast” and the Ukrainian people are “enduring a living hell” Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny sentenced to nine years in prison after Russian court finds him guilty of large-scale fraud and contempt of court US warns businesses to be prepared for Russian cyber attacks Russian billionaire’s yacht detained by authorities in Gibraltar
Taking Kyiv would be ‘suicide’ for Russia, says Ukraine
A Ukrainian presidential adviser has said taking control of Kyiv is still clearly a priority for Russia, but trying to do so would be “suicide” for Moscow.
Oleksiy Arestovych added that the “active hostilities” between the two sides could end in two to three weeks.
Russia has still yet to breach the Ukrainian capital, despite heavy bombardment. The Ukrainian army said earlier today that it had forced Russian troops out of Makariv – a strategically important Kyiv suburb – after a fierce battle, retaking control of a key highway to prevent the invading forces from surrounding the capital from the northwest.
But Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russian forces advancing on the capital have partially occupied the northwestern suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin as they try to encircle the city.
A curfew is in place in Kyiv until 7am tomorrow as the city faces “more shelling”.
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4:04
Battle for Kyiv intensifies
Russia wants to starve Mariupol into surrender, claims Ukrainian MP
A Kyiv MP has accused Russia of trying to starve Mariupol into surrender.
Dmytro Gurin, who is originally from the port city, told Sky News its remaining 300,000 people are without food and living in “medieval conditions” amid the “shooting” and “bombing” which he says “never stops”.
“We clearly see that Russia wants to start hunger to enforce its diplomatic position on the diplomatic processes and that’s just what Russia does,” he said. “Russia doesn’t want to open any humanitarian corridors in or out, and we clearly see it.”
Russia will see that “all of these people still have no food, still have no water”, he continued.
“Several days ago people in Mariupol were happy when they had snow because they could melt the snow for water. People still have some water in radiator systems in these multi-storey buildings, but it is not forever, and people in several days will start dying from dehydration and lack of food. That’s reality.”
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1:38
‘Dead people in the street. It’s normal’
Ukrainian forces repel Russians in battle for Mariupol
Despite the heavy fighting, Ukrainian forces continue to repulse Russian attempts to occupy the southern city of Mariupol, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
It says Vladimir Putin’s forces elsewhere have again made “limited progress” with most troops “largely stalled in place” in its latest intelligence update.
However, it added: “Several Ukrainian cities continue to suffer heavy Russian air and artillery bombardment with the UN reporting that more than 10 million Ukrainians are now internally displaced as a result of Russia’s invasion.”
The United Nations says nearly 3.4 million people have fled Ukraine for neighbouring countries since the war began.
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1:23
Destroyed Mariupol seen from above
More than 100 children have died, claims Ukraine
Around 117 children have been killed in the conflict so far and 155 wounded, Ukraine has alleged.
The Ukrainian Parliament tweeted the figures, which it said included 58 child victims in Kyiv, 40 in Kharkiv, 31 in Chernihiv, 30 in Donetsk, 24 in Mykolaiv, 15 in Kherson and 14 in Sumy.
These claims have not been independently verified by Sky News.
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0:42
Ukraine on ‘brink of survival’
‘Ukraine on brink of survival’ – Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president has said his country is on the brink of surviving the war, as he warned the Russian stance won’t stop at Ukraine and called on the West to increase sanctions against Russia.
“For Russian troops, Ukraine is the gates of Europe, where they want to break in, but barbarism must not be allowed to pass,” Mr Zelenskyy told the Italian parliament.
It comes after he reiterated his readiness for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, saying he was ready to compromise to end the invasion.
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‘Clear sign’ Putin is considering using biological and chemical weapons, says Biden
Russia’s false accusation that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons is a “clear sign” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “back is against the wall” and he is considering using them himself, US President Joe Biden has said.
He said the Russian leader’s “back is against the wall and now he’s talking about new false flags he’s setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe, simply not true”.
“They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That’s a clear sign he’s considering using both of those,” he said.
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1:42
Living on trains under Kharkiv
Russia has lost ‘15,300 personnel’, Ukraine says
Russia has lost 15,300 personnel since the start of the war, Ukraine’s armed forces has claimed.
It also said Russian armed forces had lost 509 Russian tanks, 1,556 armoured vehicles, 252 artillery pieces, 80 multiple rocket launchers, 45 surface-to-air missiles, 99 jets, 123 helicopters and 35 drones.
The figures proed by Ukrainian officials cannot be verified by Sky News, and experts point out it is in the interests of countries at war to give higher estimates of enemy casualties.
Earlier this month, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed 498 of its troops had been killed in Ukraine and a further 1,597 wounded – the first time it admitted any casualties from its invasion of Ukraine.
A pro-Kremlin tabloid on Monday reported that almost 10,000 Russian troops had been killed in Ukraine, before removing the data – claiming it had been hacked. Komsomolskaya Pravda initially said 9,861 Russian troops had died, citing the country’s ministry of defence.
US intelligence estimates last week suggested more than 7,000 Russian troops had been killed in three weeks of fighting.
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2:32
Ukraine war: What happened on Day 26?
Attempts to evacuate civilians to continue
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said evacuations will continue to “focus” on those trapped inside Mariupol – but it was not among the destinations she listed and there was no mention of whether the routes had been agreed with Russia.
Iryna Vereshchuk said attempts would be made to evacuate civilians from southern Ukraine through three routes: Berdyansk to Zaporizhzhia, Mangushska hromada to Zaporizhzhia and Nikolske to Zaporizhzhia.
She said buses will arrive between 9am and 10am local time (7am and 8am GMT).
“We demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for civilians,” she said on Ukrainian TV, renewing appeals also to allow food, medicine and other supplies into Mariupol, which has no electricity and water.
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on 24 February.
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0:31
Russian troops ‘fire on Kherson crowd’
Food and medical supplies running out in Kherson, says Ukraine
Around 300,000 people in occupied Kherson are struggling to access food and medical supplies, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry.
The southern city – which supplies all the fresh water to Crimea – has been under Russian occupation since near the start of the invasion.
“Kherson’s 300,000 citizens face a humanitarian catastrophe owing to the Russian army’s blockade. Food and medical supplies have almost run out, yet Russia refuses to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians,” ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on Twitter.
