Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces control most of Mariupol, but Ukrainian troops remain in a part of it. Around 120,000 civilians were blocked from leaving the besieged city, he said. He appealed for more heavy weapons
It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the biggest battle of the Ukraine war, declaring the port of Mariupol "liberated" after nearly two months of siege, despite hundreds of defenders still holding out inside a giant steel works.
Putin said the remaining Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel factory were free to lay down their weapons and surrender.
Russian forces are advancing from staging areas in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region towards Kramatorsk, which continues to be hit by rocket attacks, the UK Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, said it was under intense bombardment.
U.S. President Joe Biden pledged $800 million (€737 million) in more weaponry for Ukraine on Thursday and said he would ask Congress for more money to help bolster support for the Ukrainian military.
I’m grateful to @POTUS & 🇺🇸 people for the leadership in supporting the people of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. This help is needed today more than ever! It saves the lives of our defenders of democracy and freedom and brings us closer to restoring peace in 🇺🇦.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 21, 2022
Zelenskiy ruled out heading to Moscow for direct talks with Russian leaders on ending the war.
The Kremlin said Moscow was still waiting for Ukraine's response to Russia's latest written proposal in peace talks between the two sides. Zelenskiy said he had not seen it.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said any peace talks were likely to fail and compared holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiating with a crocodile.
Denmark and Spain's prime ministers pledged to send more weapons to Ukraine during a trip to Kyiv.
Ukraine is working with a group of international lawyers on a mechanism to use frozen Russian funds to compensate for its losses suffered as a result of Moscow's invasion, Justice Minister Denys Malyuska told Reuters.
Ukraine's Central Bank Governor said the country expects to lose a third of its GDP in 2022 under a moderately optimistic scenario.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged countries that have not yet condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine to do so and to avoid violating sanctions imposed on Russia.
World Bank President David Malpass said the food security crisis caused by the war was likely to last months and perhaps into next year
