Fighting ongoing in Mariupol: Ukrainian governor

Fighting going in  Ukrainian and Russian forces is “ongoing” within the strategic port of Mariupol, the local government informed the Media Tuesday.

“There is fighting ongoing in Mariupol. This is street combating,” Pavlo Kyrylenko governor of Ukraine’s jap Donetsk location said.

Ukrainian forces there are “under heavy bombardment” however “retain to guard Mariupol.”

“There are certain districts where street fighting is continuing. I can’t say the Russians are controlling them,” Kyrylenko said, adding that the fighting was “not just small arms fighting, but also tank fighting.”

It is not possible to verify information given by either side given the scale of the fighting and lack of communication.

Russian forces are believed to have gradually pushed their way into the city, pinning Ukrainian troops down to giant factories near the port, which are equipped with vast underground tunnels.

Russia on Tuesday called on Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to “immediately” lay down their arms in a new ultimatum.

Its defense ministry said Ukrainian forces still holed up inside the devastated city’s main metallurgical plant Azvostal were facing a “catastrophic situation.”

“Everyone who lays down their arms will be guaranteed survival,” it said.

Mariupol’s city council said Monday that hundreds of civilians are also taking shelter in the factory.

“There are at least 1,000 civilians in the underground shelters of the metallurgical plant. Mostly women with children and the elderly,” it said on Telegram.

Russia last week claimed that more than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered in Mariupol from a separate factory.

According to pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists, several hundred others are nonetheless prevented from in the large Azovstal manufacturing facility.

Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed in the metropolis, with the ones escaping speaking of harrowing conditions.