The response to the new Russian ultimatum, which called on the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender, was negative. Azovstal, the iron and steel plant, is being targeted by Russian forces pounding it from the air, while a ground force is trying to invade the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol.
Russian forces are bombing the area, as well as residential areas in another part of the city, said an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol. Thousands of civilians are also at the Azovstal plant, local officials say, rushing to shelters and tunnels on the site. Edward Basurin, who represents the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People's Republic”, denied the allegations.
Smoke rises above Azovstal
Moscow says most of the city is under Russian control. If the entire city falls, it will be a major strategic reward for Russia, leaving it in control of a vast expanse of southern and eastern Ukraine. A little earlier, Ukrainian MP Lesya Vasilekno posted on Twitter a map of Mariupol, which she says “is surrounded on all sides, but still stands under the flags of Ukraine.”
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Attack on Donbas
With heavy ground offensive, rocket fire and continuous artillery attacks, the battle of Donbas began, with the aim of opening Russian corridors to the southern part of the occupied Crimean peninsula. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has confirmed that a new phase of the operation has been launched, saying that the Russian army is only targeting military targets.
In Kharkov, three people were killed in mortar attacks. The mayor of the city spoke of a ruthless pounding by Russian forces. According to ERT envoy Alexia Kalaitzis. Sirens sounded in Kyiv and, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, 1,260 targets were hit overnight. Massive artillery fire and rocket fire were reported along the entire line of contact in eastern Ukraine, and eight people have already been killed in the bombings.
