Soldiers in Mariupol continue to resist Russian ultimatum to surrender, says Ukrainian Prime Minister

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal said the troops in Marioupol were still fighting, despite Russian ultimatum to surrender.

“The city has not yet fallen”, he told the American TV network ABC, adding that Ukrainian soldiers continue to control parts of the city.

Russia said on Saturday it had control of urban parts of the city and that several Ukrainian fighters had remained at the Azovstal steel plant.

The capture of Marioupolis, the main port in the southeastern region of Donbas, would be a strategic victory for Russia, as it would enable the territory to be connected to the east, under the control of pro-Russian separatists, with the Crimea region, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

After failing to overcome Ukrainian resistance in the north, the Russian Army has focused on a land offensive in Donbas, conducting long-term attacks elsewhere, including the country's capital, Kiev.

Since the beginning of the February 24th attack, about four million Ukrainians have left the country. Cities are destroyed and thousands of people are dead.

“Occupants will be held accountable for everything they have done in Ukraine“, President Voldymyr Zelenskiy wrote in his account at Telegram, where he posted images of the destruction he said were similar to the horrible period during World War II. / VOA