The critical fight for 'heart of this war' Mariupol
Russian troops started their encirclement of Mariupol in early March, gradually tightening the noose
The city's fate is likely to be critical for the next phase of the war. In Russian hands it would provide control of a clear swathe of territory connecting Moscow's two fronts in the south and east. It would release large numbers of forces to redeploy, and provide President Vladimir Putin with a moment of strategic "victory" after a lethally shambolic first stage to his invasion.
I have watched civilians arrive day after day, describing how they have witnessed the obliteration of their city. "We are holding on to every bit of the city wherever possible," says one in a video posted to social media channels on Tuesday. The siege and a resulting collapse in communications in Mariupol mean it is difficult to independently verify reports about changes on the ground.
"They've already held out far, far longer than any external analysis would have predicted possible. So it's difficult to say how much longer they can go on," he says, adding that they have "achieved extraordinary results with very little". In his video address to the nation late on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "The future of Ukraine directly depends on the strength of our resistance in all its forms. The future of us all, each of our cities, each of our villages.
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