Key developments in the siege of the strategic Ukrainian port of Mariupol where Russia has been seeking to conquer the last pocket of resistance holed up in a sprawling steelworks, after a rush to evacuate civilians trapped inside.<\/p>\n
Located on the Sea of Azov, the city has been a key prize for Russia in its bid to join up the annexed Crimea peninsula to the west with territory held by pro-Russian rebels in the east.<\/p>\n
A timeline:<\/p>\n
- Pounded, encircled -<\/p>\n
On March 2, a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's artillery begins pounding Mariupol, a predominantly Russian-speaking city of 441,000 inhabitants some 55 kilometres (35 miles) from the Russian border and 85 kilometres from the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Donetsk.<\/p>\n
The mayor accuses Russian forces and pro-Russian fighters of seeking to \"impose a blockade\" by cutting off food supplies and vital infrastructure, including water, electricity and heating.<\/p>\n
- Maternity ward bombed -<\/p>\n
On March 9, Russia targets a building housing a maternity ward and paediatric hospital in Mariupol, killing three, including a young girl.<\/p>\n
Ukraine and the European Union condemn a \"war crime\". Russia claims the building is sheltering Ukrainian nationalists.<\/p>\n
- First evacuations -<\/p>\n
Mid-March sees the start of the evacuation of thousands of civilians from the city through a humanitarian corridor.<\/p>\n
Earlier evacuation attempts had collapsed with both sides accusing the other of failing to halt fire.<\/p>\n
- Theatre destroyed -<\/p>\n
On March 16, Russian air strikes raze a theatre sheltering hundreds of people, mostly women and children. It takes days to reach survivors trapped in an underground shelter.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian authorities estimate some 300 people were killed.<\/p>\n
Moscow denies the attack, blaming Ukraine's far-right Azov battalion, which is based in the city.<\/p>\n
- 'Freezing hellscape' -<\/p>\n
On March 21, Kyiv rejects a first Russian ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in the city to surrender.<\/p>\n
Civilians who manage to escape in their own vehicles describe a \"freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings\", Human Rights Watch says.<\/p>\n
- Ceasefire, more evacuations -<\/p>\n
On March 30, Moscow announces a ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol to the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia.<\/p>\n
On April 4, Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko says the city has been \"90 percent\" destroyed.<\/p>\n
On April 7, the new \"mayor\" of Mariupol, Konstantin Ivashchenko, installed by pro-Russian forces, says that around 5,000 civilians have died.<\/p>\n
- 'Last battle' -<\/p>\n
On April 11, marines in Mariupol say they are preparing for a \"last battle\", with fighting concentrated at the Azovstal steelworks after separatists say they seized the port.<\/p>\n
- Thousands dead -<\/p>\n
The next day, the regional authorities say at least 20,000 people have been killed.<\/p>\n
The United States says it has \"credible information\" that Russia may use \"chemical agents\" in its offensive.<\/p>\n
Over the following week, Russia issues a string of ultimatums to troops holed up at the steelworks to give themselves up but they refuse.<\/p>\n
- Civilians trapped -<\/p>\n
On April 20, Ukraine proposes special negotiations on the fate of Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians are also sheltering alongside troops in the steelworks.<\/p>\n
- Mariupol 'liberated' -<\/p>\n
On April 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin declares the \"liberation\" of Mariupol to be a \"success.\" He orders the Russian military to refrain from storming the Azovstal plant, telling them to besiege it instead, \"so that not even a fly can escape.\"<\/p>\n
On May 2, an initial group of around 100 civilians is evacuated from the plant, arriving in Zaporizhzhia.<\/p>\n
- Women, children rescued -<\/p>\n
On May 3, Russian forces launch a \"powerful assault\" on the plant using artillery and planes, according to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The next day, Russia announces its forces will cease fire at Azovstal and open a humanitarian corridor for civilian evacuations for three days. Ukrainian fighters say the assault continues.<\/p>\n
On May 6, the Ukrainian presidency says almost 500 civilians have been evacuated in total, but the UN-led rescue operation is ongoing.<\/p>\n
A day later, Kyiv says \"all women, children and the elderly\" have been extracted from the plant to safety.<\/p>\n
It urges Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to evacuate its soldiers from the steel plant, adding those wounded are \"dying because of gangrene and sepsis\" without medicine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Key developments in the siege of the strategic Ukrainian port of Mariupol where Russia has been seeking to conquer the last pocket of resistance holed up in a sprawling steelworks, after a rush to evacuate civilians trapped inside. Located on the Sea of Azov, the city has been a key prize for Russia in its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553,1],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-89612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed","category-non-classifiee"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n