Ukrainian port city suffers 15-hour bombardment as Russians offload 'all weapons in their arsenal'

Mariupol, a large port city on the Azov Sea in Ukraine, endured 15 hours of continuous bombardment yesterday.

Deputy mayor of Mariupol, Serhiy Orlov, says the city is “near to a humanitarian catastrophe”, telling reporters that Russian forces are “working through all their weapons here — artillery, multiple rocket launch systems, airplanes, tactical rockets".

“They are trying to destroy the city … We cannot count the number of victims there, but we believe at least hundreds of people are dead," he added.

With fighting going on in multiple fronts across the country, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Mariupol was encircled by Russian forces.

Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko said the attacks there had been relentless.

“We cannot even take the wounded from the streets, from houses and apartments today, since the shelling does not stop,” he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

The MoD issued an intelligence update which said: “Despite heavy Russian shelling, the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain in Ukrainian hands."

Earlier today Ukraine officials said their forces had shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter plane, taken down by an air defence unit north of Mariupol.

On Facebook the Ukrainian General Staff posted “Minus one ... The pilots of this plane carried out a barbaric bombardment of the civilian population and infrastructure of the city. Glory to Ukraine! We will win!"