Mariupol, a strategic, mostly Russian-speaking port in the southeast, has been one of the main targets of Moscow’s attacks. Capturing Mariupol would help Russian forces secure a land corridor to the Crimea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Mariupol has suffered some of the heaviest bombardments since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped with little if any food, water and power.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for urgent talks with Moscow saying that peace talks are the “only chance for Russia to minimise the damage done with their own mistakes”.
Russia says for a second day in a row it has fired its newest hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, destroying a fuel storage site in the country’s south.
Zelensky urged Israel to abandon its effort to maintain neutrality following Russia’s invasion, saying the time had come for the Jewish state to firmly back his country.
Ten million people — more than a quarter of the population — have now fled their homes in Ukraine due to Russia’s “devastating” war, the United Nations refugees chief says Sunday. More than 3.3 million of them have escaped the country.
Oil prices jumped $2 on Monday as Ukrainian forces dug in against heavy Russian attacks, while major oil producers reported they are struggling to produce their allotted quotas under a supply agreement
With inputs from NDTV
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