The Latest Breaking News from Alexander Ermochenko

In today’s newsletter: what’s at stake in the long battle for the port city at the heart of Ukraine’s defence

The mayor of Mariupol made a new appeal on Friday for the "full evacuation" of the southern Ukrainian city which President Vladimir Putin says is now controlled by Russian forces.

Ukraine's deputy prime minister said on Wednesday that an agreed humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol had not worked as planned, blaming Russian forces for not holding their ceasefire.

Marine commander appeals for help as another Russian ultimatum calling for remaining troops in city to surrender expires

About 1,000 civilians remained trapped at a steel plant where Ukrainian forces are making their last stand in the besieged city of Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after a Russian ultimatum to surrender or die expired on Wednesday.

Ukraine accused Russian forces on Wednesday of failing to observe a local ceasefire agreement long enough to allow large numbers of women, children and elderly people to flee the besieged city of Mariupol.

Ukraine proposed talks with Moscow over evacuating troops and civilians from Mariupol after a Russian surrender-or-die ultimatum expired on Wednesday, leaving many trapped at a steel plant, the last main stronghold of resistance.

Nearly two months since he launched his invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is facing heavy troop losses, ruinous sanctions and rumours of purges and even a possible coup.

No fewer than 1,000 civilians are hiding in underground shelters beneath the vast Azovstal steel plant in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, the city council said on Monday, adding that Russia was dropping heavy bombs onto the Ukrianian-held factory in the besieged city.

The mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Monday said that about 40,000 civilians had been forcibly moved to Russia or Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine.

Ukraine said on Monday Russia had started an anticipated new offensive in the east of the country while a Russian missile attack killed seven people in Lviv, the first civilian victims in the western city about 60 km (40 miles) from Poland.