Ukraine LIVE: Putin war ruined as Kyiv has MORE tanks – Kremlin admits 20K ‘dead, missing’ | World | News

Russian forces’ “mockery” of those left trapped in Mariupol continues, according to the city’s mayor Vadym Boichenko.

Mr Boichenko said that Vladimir Putin alone can decide the fate of the civilians still trapped in Mariupol.

Under heavy bombardment, citizens who did not flee during nearly two months of siege and fighting have suffered without electricity, heating or water.

Mr Boichenko has said tens of thousands of residents have been killed, although the figure cannot be verified.

Russia denies targeting civilians.

Putin said on Thursday Russian troops had “liberated” Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow calls a “special military operation.”

But a contingent of Ukrainian fighters are still holding out in the underground bunkers of the Azovstal steel complex, alongside hundreds of civilians in desperate conditions, according to Ukrainian authorities.