Russia claims some victory in Mariupol

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday said Russian forces had securely blocked Azovstal steel plant where Ukrainian troops and civilians set up a final stronghold in the strategic southeastern city of Mariupol. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces not to storm the plant but to block it “so that not even a fly comes through.” Shoigu said Russian forces had gained control of the rest of the city. Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk called for an urgent humanitarian corridor to evacuate 1,000 civilians and 500 wounded soldiers from the plant. Vereshchuk said only four evacuation buses left Mariupol on Wednesday.

What’s happening in other cities? Kyiv regional police said authorities uncovered two mass graves with nine bodies in the city of Borodyanka on Wednesday. The United Nations refugee agency said more than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since the war started. Ukraine claims it has repelled nine attacks in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions as Russian forces continue their offensive.

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