Around 120,000 civilians are blocked from leaving the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.
Responding to remarks by Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu that its forces control most of Mariupol, Zelenskyy said that Russia controls most of the city, but Ukrainian troops remain in a part of it.
The remainder of Ukrainian troops in Mariupol are now holed up in the Azovstal steel plant from where they are resisting the Russian siege.
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said a small convoy of buses had evacuated people from Mariupol on Wednesday and was headed for the city of Zaporhizhia which is under Ukrainian control.
Mariupol, once home to 400,000 people, has seen not only the most intense battle of the war but also its worst humanitarian catastrophe, with hundreds of thousands of civilians cut off for nearly two months under Russian siege and bombardment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in Mariupol on Thursday, declaring the port "liberated" despite leaving hundreds of defenders still holed up inside the giant Azovstal steelworks.
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