Mariupol holds out

In a video address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said escalated shelling is reducing the city of Mariupol to ashes, but he insisted it will survive. The Russian troops encircled around Mariupol have been pounding the city for three weeks. Over the weekend, Moscow offered to allow civilians to evacuate in return for surrender. Well before the deadline, Ukraine rejected the offer. If the city falls, Russia could use it as a land bridge to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

How are conditions in the city? Before the war started, Mariupol had a population of 430,000. Of those, officials said only 10 percent have escaped while at least 2,300 have died. Civilians who have escaped said many are buried in mass graves or lie in the streets. Authorities also claimed that several thousand were taken to Russia against their will or prevented from leaving. The siege has cut off electricity, water, communication, food, and medical support. Bombs have leveled several large facilities like hospitals, a theater, and schools that were marked as shelters. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the situation “a massive war crime.”

Dig deeper: Read up on WORLD’s latest coverage of the war in Ukraine.