Mariupol

As Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin has led devastating sieges of Grozny, Aleppo and now Mariupol.

By the time Russian forces took the city in February 2000, the city was decimated. Putin was born in Leningrad after the siege in 1952, but lost an older brother, Viktor, who died as an infant during the blockade. Survivors of the Aleppo siege recall the trauma not only associated with the bombing and shelling, but also with the severe lack of food and other basic supplies. The United Nations later said Grozny was the most destroyed city on Earth, while estimates of the deaths ran well into the thousands. Chechnya had fought off a Russian invasion only five years before, but this time the breakaway republic was submitted to ferocious artillery attacks and airstrikes. In both cases, the result was the near-total destruction of historic centers.

Mariupol continues to be bombarded by Russian forces, who also reportedly attacked Odesa for the first time.

Three civilians were killed and five were injured as a result of Russian shelling on Sunday in the east of the country, said Pavel Kirilenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration. He said at least one person was killed. Mariupol continues to be bombarded by Russian forces, who also reportedly attacked Odesa for the first time. Mariupol continues to be bombarded by Russian forces, who also reportedly attacked Odesa for the first time. Meanwhile, Odesa’s mayor has accused Russian forces of carrying out an attack on residential buildings on the outskirts of the Black Sea port city, marking the first such reported attack there. Ukraine has rejected Russian calls to surrender the port city of Mariupol, where residents are besieged with little food, water, and power, in a humanitarian crisis that is increasing pressure on European leaders to toughen sanctions on Moscow.

Mariupol was not on a list of cities and towns for humanitarian corridors on Monday. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

For now we have some food and some firewood. Where can we go from the basement?” she said. Separately, Moscow said on Monday that peace talks with Kyiv had yet to yield any major breakthroughs. “The bombs did not kill them but all this... It has been under siege and bombardment, with no food, medicine, power or fresh water, since the early days of Russia’s invasion on Feb 24. "All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol."

MARIUPOL: Ukraine said it would not accept ultimatums from Russia after Moscow demanded it stop defending besieged Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of ...

Both sides hinted last week at progress in talks on a formula which would include some kind of "neutrality" for Ukraine, though details were scarce. Officials imposed a day-and-a-half curfew in the capital from Monday night, citing the likelihood of more shelling. Ukraine said there were no strategic military objects in the area. Russia said the centre was being used as a weapons store. Emergency services combed wreckage to the sound of distant artillery fire. A second witness, outside the city, reported hearing more intense explosions than on any day since Russian troops began attacking last month.

MARIUPOL, Ukraine: Andrei is busy burying dead neighbours in a makeshift grave by the roadside, opposite a bombed-out apartment block.

Everything is ruined ... We don't know how we will live now." Where can we go from the basement?" "We hope for the best - to live as human beings. It said 59,000 people had been evacuated from Mariupol in the last three days, TASS news agency reported. A boy pushed a supermarket trolley past a bombed out car. Natalia wonders whether her own home is still standing, while a family frets over how long their dwindling food supplies can hold out.

Good evening. This is your Russia-Ukraine War Briefing, a weeknight guide to the latest news and analysis about the conflict.

If Russia takes control of Mariupol, it would create a land corridor between the separatist enclaves in the east and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Recently evacuated residents also told The Times that they had been in touch with people who had been taken from basement shelters to Russia against their will. Nadezhda Sukhorukova, a resident who managed to escape Mariupol, described life in the city — including the near-constant roar of planes and explosions, and the corpses heaped on the street —  in a series of Facebook posts.