Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska told the 300,000 residents trapped in the besieged port city: 'Please hold on, dear people, I beg you.'
It is difficult to know exactly what is happening in Mariupol, a city surrounded and cut off by Russian forces. Here's what we do:
But it has been rejected."There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk told UkrainianMariupol Mayor Piotr Andryushchenko also dismissed the offer Previous attempts to evacuate the port city and other Ukrainian cities have been thwarted by bombardments continuing as civilians tried to fleeAbout 90 percent of Mariupol's buildings have been destroyed or damaged, according to Vadim Denisenko, a Ukrainian government adviser