Ukraine says Mariupol is in ruins, thousands trapped
STORY: Intense Russian air strikes are turning the Ukrainian city of Mariupul into "ashes of a dead land," the city’s council said on Tuesday.
These satellite images, released by Maxar Technologies, show extensive damage to apartments and factory buildings in the southern port city.
Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be trapped inside buildings, with no access to food, water, or power.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accuses Russia of thwarting attempts to create a stable humanitarian corridor.
In a video address late on Tuesday, he said that peace talks with Moscow had been confrontational but were moving forward.
"We are continuing to work at different levels to encourage Russia to move towards peace, to end this brutal war. Ukrainian representatives are participating in talks that are taking place virtually every day. It's very difficult, sometimes confrontational. But step by step we are moving forward."
With the war now in its 28th day, Mariupol has become the focus.
The port city lies on the Sea of Azov and its capture would allow Russia to link areas in the east held by pro-Russian separatists.
A Reuters team reached a Russian-seized part of the city on Sunday.
They filmed a wasteland of charred apartment blocks and bodies wrapped in blankets lying by a road.
They also met people living in basements.
Kyiv has accused Moscow of deporting residents of Mariupol and separatist-held areas of Ukraine to Russia.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians and forcing people to leave, saying it is taking in refugees.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin calls the invasion a “special military operation” designed to demilitarize Ukraine and replace its pro-Western leadership.
The continued fighting will form the backdrop of a new round of diplomacy this week.
U.S. President Joe Biden is visiting Brussels and is expected to announce new sanctions against Russia.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is preparing sanctions on more than 300 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament.
So far, Russia has failed to capture any major Ukrainian city with a swift offensive.
That’s led to concerns from Western powers that the conflict could escalate further, even to a nuclear war.
