Here’s a quick catch-up of the latest news from Ukraine:
In Mariupol
- Evacuation corridors have been operating – letting some civilians flee the embattled port city for another south-eastern town, Zaporizhzhia
- But the regional governor was quoted by Reuters saying fewer buses than planned were able to reach people, and not many escapes were managed
- Officials had been hoping to bring 6,000 people out on Wednesday. The news follows other scuppered efforts with humanitarian corridors
- A deadline issued by Russia for the last Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender passed at 11:00 GMT (12:00 BST), but there was no sign of the defenders laying down their weapons
- There remains an intense focus on the Azovstal steelworks, which represents Ukraine’s last pocket of resistance there
- Earlier, a marine commander defending the huge facility said his troops might have only hours left. He pleaded for help – but vowed he would not surrender
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later said around 1,000 civilians were sheltering at the plant
Beyond
- The number of Ukrainians who’ve fled their country since the invasion has now exceeded five million, according to the UN
- Russia says it’s test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile. President Vladimir Putin said it would provide food for thought for those who tried to threaten his country
- The US called the test “routine” and said it had been notified in advance
- Zelensky welcomed European Council President Charles Michel to Kyiv, saying that joining the EU was Ukraine’s “priority”
- He was also quoted saying that he’d not seen or heard about a document that Russia claims to have sent regarding peace talks
- Russian and Belarusian tennis players have been banned from the Wimbledon championships in London, starting in June – a move criticised by Russia and the ATP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called the conditions in Mariupol “truly horrific” as he called for all who can to flee the fighting through humanitarian corridors.
He said that the world witnessed weeks ago the death and destruction in Bucha once the “receding Russian tide” had lifted.
“We can only anticipate that.. this tide also, at some point, recedes from Mariupol, we are going to see far worse than what’s possible to imagine.”
He called for civilians to flee through humanitarian corridors that Ukraine has deemed safe, and called the decision to leave “very difficult” but necessary.
“What gives pause is the fact that there have been agreements on humanitarian corridors established before that have fallen apart very, very quickly, if not immediately,” Blinken said.
“Principally because the security has been violated by Russian forces. And so people leaving – believing they could do so safely and securely – were fired upon.”
He noted that the US was helping Ukraine to assess the safety of the security corridors.