ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine —
Ukraine tried to evacuate more
civilians from a besieged Mariupol steel plant on Saturday as Russian forces
unleashed new bombardments across the country ahead of Victory Day festivities
in Moscow.
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The
Azovstal steel mill is the last pocket of Ukrainian
resistance in the devastated port city and its fate has taken on a symbolic
value in the broader battle since Russia's invasion.
Fighting continues on many fronts, and Ukraine's defense
ministry said it had destroyed another Russian warship — a Serna-class landing
craft — in the Black Sea.
"The traditional parade of the
Russian Black Sea fleet
on May 9 this year will be held near Snake Island — at the bottom of the
sea," the ministry added. Russia did not immediately confirm the incident.
Ukraine's defense ministry had earlier said Russian forces
had resumed their assault on the Azovstal site, despite talk of a truce to
allow trapped civilians to flee the complex.
Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said rescuers would try
to evacuate more civilians on Saturday.
On Monday,
President Vladimir Putin will celebrate the World
War II Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with a traditional Victory Day parade.
According to Russia's defense ministry, 77 aircraft will
conduct a flypast, including the rarely-seen Il-80 Doomsday plane that can
withstand a nuclear attack.
Eight Mig-29 fighter jets will fly over Moscow's Red Square
forming the letter "Z" — the mark of Russia's military assault in
Ukraine.
The campaign has run into tough resistance — and provoked
Kyiv's western allies into slapping massive economic sanctions on the
Russian economy and Putin's inner circle.
But with Victory Day fast approaching, Ukrainian officials
fear more intense missile and artillery bombardments and renewed assaults as
Moscow scrambles for symbolic wins.
The Ukrainian rescue service said a missile hit a technical
college in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern region of Donetsk, causing a fire and
at least two deaths.
Donetsk regional governor
Pavlo Kyrylenko said there had
been "massive bombardments" along the frontline.
Strikes were also reported in the north of Ukraine near the
city of Kharkiv and in the southern city of Mikoleyev, a key Russian target.
Ukrainian forces have launched a counter-offensive of their own.
Bridges down
According to the defense ministry, Russian troops were
forced to demolish three road bridges near Tsyrkuny and Ruski Tyshky outside
Kharkiv, to slow the Ukrainian advance.
According to British intelligence, Ukrainian forces equipped
with high-end weaponry by the western allies, have been able to destroy at
least one of Russia's most advanced tanks, the T-90M.
"The conflict in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on some
of Russia's most capable units and most advanced capabilities," UK Defense
Intelligence said.
"It will take considerable time and expense for Russia
to reconstitute its armed forces following this conflict," it said,
warning sanctions on advanced components would make it harder for Russia to
re-arm.
The west, meanwhile, is stepping up arms deliveries to
Ukraine's defenders.
US President Joe Biden on Friday announced another package
of military assistance worth $150 million, including counter-artillery radars
used for detecting the source of enemy fire.
This brings the total value of US weaponry sent to Ukraine
since the Russian invasion began to $3.8 billion.
Azovstal evacuation
On Friday,
Zelensky said "diplomatic options" were
also under way to rescue Ukrainian soldiers from the Mariupol steelworks, as
civilian evacuations continued.
The Russian defense ministry said 50 people were evacuated
from the site, including 11 children.
It added they were handed over to the UN
and
Red Cross,
which are assisting in the operation, and that the "humanitarian
operation" would continue on Saturday.
About 200 civilians, including children, are thought to be
trapped in the tunnels and bunkers beneath Azovstal, along with Ukrainian
soldiers making their last stand.
Russia announced a day-time ceasefire at the plant for three
days starting Thursday but the Ukrainian army said Russian "assault
operations" had continued by ground and air.
Ukraine's Azov battalion, leading the defense at
Azovstal,
said one Ukrainian fighter had been killed and six wounded when Russian forces
opened fire during an attempt to evacuate people by car.
Russia to remain 'forever'
Since failing to take Kyiv early on in the war, Russia has
refocused on the south and east of Ukraine.
Taking full control of Mariupol would allow Moscow to create
a land bridge between the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, and
separatist, pro-Russian regions in the east.
In those regions, separatists said they had removed
Ukrainian and English language traffic signs for Mariupol and replaced them
with Russian ones.
Locals want to see proof that "Russia has come back
here forever," said Denis Pushilin, head of a pro-Russian breakaway region
in Donetsk.
In neighboring Lugansk, Ukrainian officials said on Friday
that Russian forces had almost encircled
Severodonetsk — the easternmost city
still held by Kyiv — and are trying to storm it.
Kherson in the south remains the only significant city
Russia has managed to capture since the war began.
A senior official from the
Russian parliament visiting the city
on Friday also emphasized that Russia would remain in southern Ukraine
"forever".
"There should be no doubt about this. There will be no
return to the past," Andrey Turchak said.
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