Mayor says 10,000 civilians dead in Mariupol

Russia’s attempt to capture Mariupol’s strategic port has left bodies “carpeted through the streets,” said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko. With at least 10,000 dead, the city’s final toll could double to 20,000 as more victims are discovered, he added. Boychenko said Russian forces have also wheeled in mobile cremation equipment to get rid of victims of the ongoing siege.

What’s happening in other cities? A senior U.S. official said Russian ground combat units that withdrew from the areas around Kyiv and Chernihiv are restocking before taking position in the eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces left behind hundreds of thousands of mines and unexploded shells when they withdrew from the north. Meanwhile on Monday, heavy shelling struck the eastern city of Kharkiv, while Russian strikes in Ukraine’s Donetsk region killed at least three people. Ukrainian officials announced the opening of nine humanitarian corridors Tuesday, including from Mariupol. Russian troops reportedly seized 10 volunteer drivers after they refused to drive their buses with Mariupol evacuees into Russia.

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