![]() In Russian-held districts reached by Reuters, shell-shocked residents cooked on open fires outside their damaged homes. Russia has denied targeting civilians in its invasion of Ukraine and says, without evidence, that signs of atrocities were staged.Ĭapturing Mariupol would link pro-Russian separatist territory with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine believes more than 20,000 civilians have died there. Tens of thousands of residents have been trapped with no access to food or water and bodies litter the streets. Mariupol has been besieged since the war's early days. In Mariupol, scene of the war's heaviest fighting and worst humanitarian catastrophe, about 120 civilians living next to the sprawling steel plant left via humanitarian corridors, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, quoting Russian state TV. Ukraine has counter-attacked near Kharkiv in the rear of Russia's advance, apparently aiming to cut off supply lines. ![]() Ukraine has a large force defending northern parts of the Donbas and military experts say Russia aims to cut them off or surround them.īut Russia still needs to keep its troops supplied across miles of hostile territory. Moscow now says its aim is to capture the full provinces on the separatists' behalf. The coal- and steel-producing Donbas has been the focal point of Russia's campaign to destabilise Ukraine since 2014, when the Kremlin used proxies to set up separatist "people's republics" in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russian forces had tried to break through Ukrainian defences "along almost the entire front line of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions". It has also made long-distance strikes at other targets including the capital. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia was "methodically" carrying out its plan to "liberate" Donetsk and Luhansk, provinces which Moscow demands Kyiv cede fully to Russian-backed separatists.ĭriven back by Ukrainian forces in March from an assault on Kyiv in the north, Russia has instead poured troops into the east for the Donbas offensive.
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