One of Ukraine’s largest cities was under siege from relentless bombardment on Tuesday, with its power cut off amid fierce fighting.
Russian forces said they were committed to encircling the strategic Black Sea port of Mariupol, which is key to the Kremlin’s plans to create a land corridor between the Crimea and the Russian mainland. The land grab would also block Ukraine’s access to the Sea of Azov.
A Ukrainian soldier last night texted the Telegraph begging the world “don’t forget us” as Russian forces surrounded the southern port city, cut off its electricity and bombarded residents with heavy shelling.
“If anything happens don’t let us be forgotten,” said the soldier, who cannot be named for security reasons. “We are surrounded in Mariupol and no way out.”
While Russian troops have stalled in the north and east, its forces have had more success in the south, using Crimea and the separatist-held Donbas region as springboards to attack Mariupol and other cities in the south including Melitopol, Berdyansk and Kherson. Seaports have also been bombarded by warships in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Mariupol was briefly occupied by pro-Kremlin separatists in 2014 when fighting broke out with the Ukrainian army, before being regained.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the region, wrote: “Mariupol and Volnovakha [a city north of Mariupol] are ours! The two cities are under pressure from the enemy but they are holding on. In Mariupol, electricity lines have been cut and the city is without power.”
The city is home to Ukraine’s largest steelmaker, which has been forced to halt production.
Vadym Boichenko, mayor of the city with a population of 500,000, said in a live television broadcast on Tuesday morning: “We have had residential quarters shelled for five days. They are pounding us with artillery, they are shelling us with Grads [rockets], they are hitting us with air forces.
“We have civilian infrastructure damaged – schools, houses. There are many injured. There are women, children killed.”
