Russia has moved a dozen crack units from the destroyed port of Mariupol, redistributing them to the eastern battle front as Ukraine said it had managed to deliver supplies to the besieged steel mine in the city of Azovstal.
This comes after an adviser to the Ukrainian president said that Russian forces were trying to carry out operations to storm the area, which is the last stronghold of Ukrainian troops in the ruined southern city.
The adviser said Russia had resumed air strikes on the site.
While Russia claims to have “liberated” Mariupol, the UK’s latest military intelligence suggests that Russian troops have not been very successful in the country over the past 24 hours, with Ukrainian counterattacks continuing to hamper their progress.
And Ukrainian authorities have said the two countries are striving for what could be a major battle for control of the country’s industrial center.
War in Ukraine: Moscow admits some killed and missing after sinking – latest updates
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3:41 What happened on the 58th day?
Key developments:
• The United Kingdom intends to reopen its embassy in Kyiv • Moldova’s foreign ministry has summoned Moscow’s ambassador amid “deep concern” that the country’s Russian-speaking population is oppressed to discuss urgent peacekeeping for Ukraine – and may visit Kyiv • Russian Defense Ministry claims one sailor killed and 27 missing after cruise missile cruiser Moscow last week
President Putin has ordered a blockade of the Azovstal facility so tightly that “a fly cannot pass” and his troops are keeping Ukrainian forces pressed there.
But Ukraine’s security chief, Alexei Danilov, said the night delivery of a helicopter brought weapons to the steel plant.
Mr Danilov said the main battles in the country were being fought in the Donbass region, the industrial center to the east, with Russia deploying more and more troops every day.
Image: A serviceman from the pro-Russian troops stands in front of the destroyed administrative building of the Azovstal metallurgical plant
Russia is looking at Moldova
Heavy fighting continues to thwart Moscow’s attempts to take over Mariupol completely and hamper their progress in the Donbas.
During the night, President Vladimir Zelensky warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was just the beginning – and Moscow had ambitions to conquer other nations.
This comes after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the country intends to introduce new methods of warfare, with the conflict entering its 59th day. The UK’s military intelligence suggests that this is a “silent confession” that the war is not progressing, as Vladimir Putin had hoped.
On Friday, a Russian general said Moscow wanted to take over all of southern and eastern Ukraine as a new phase of the invasion began.
However, British officials believe it will take time for Russia to adapt its tactics – and for now “will probably continue to rely on the bombing as a means of trying to suppress the Ukrainian opposition.”
Image: A serviceman from the pro-Russian troops stands guard at a checkpoint in Mariupol
The plan includes capturing the entire Donbass region, connecting with the Crimean peninsula and controlling land that stretches as far as the Russian-occupied region of Moldova.
Moldova’s foreign ministry has called on Moscow’s ambassador to express “deep concern” over the comments, which suggest the country’s Russian-speaking population is oppressed.
“These statements are unfounded,” the foreign ministry said on its website.
“Moldova … is a neutral state and this principle must be respected by all international actors, including the Russian Federation.”
Explainer: What are Russia’s plans for its “second phase” of the war?
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3:44 What is Russia’s plan of attack?
“A realistic opportunity” for a long war, says the prime minister
Speaking during a tour of India, Boris Johnson warned that there was a “realistic possibility” that the war in Ukraine would drag on for a long time.
And as the security situation in Kyiv improves, the prime minister adopted an assessment by Western intelligence that suggests the conflict will continue for most of 2022 and end in victory for President Putin.
Eyewitness: It is feared that Russia plans to “recruit Ukrainians” in Kherson to “fight against its own army”
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5:20 Why does Mariupol matter?
“Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop”
The port city of Mariupol has been largely reduced to smoldering ruins after weeks of bombing.
Footage broadcast on Russian state television appears to show the flag of pro-Moscow separatists in Donetsk, hoisted at the city’s highest point, a television tower.
Another video claims to show the main building of the Azovstal steel plant on fire.
Approximately 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers remain hidden in the huge complex – significantly outnumbered by Russian forces – along with 1,000 civilians.
Eyewitness: “Everything is destroyed” – Refugees describe the hell of the Mariupol attack
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3:25 Residents describe the hell of Mariupol
President Putin declared victory in the battle of Mariupol and ordered his forces not to storm the plant. Instead, he told them to seal it so that those inside had no choice but to surrender.
Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said Russian troops dropped several bombs on Azovstal every day, adding: “Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop.”
Read more: Ukraine’s Attorney General accuses Russia of planning mass killings, torture and rape
It is estimated that more than 100,000 people are still trapped in Mariupol with little food, water or heat – and no humanitarian corridors were opened on Friday because it was too dangerous.
About 20,000 civilians have been killed there in the past two months, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk called on those who remain in Mariupol to be “patient” and “stay there”.
Satellite imagery appears to indicate a new mass grave
New satellite images from Maxar have revealed the existence of a second cemetery in Vinogradne, east of Mariupol, which appears to have expanded in recent weeks.
It includes several long trenches that are – or are likely to be – new burial sites.
Local authorities shared a photo of a 45-by-25-meter mass grave, and expressed concern that it could hold the bodies of at least 1,000 people.
The discovery of mass graves has led to accusations that the Russians are trying to cover up the massacre of civilians in the city.
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Earlier this week, satellite images surfaced showing rows of freshly excavated mass graves in the town of Manchush, west of Mariupol.
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