Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation in Mariupol is "inhuman" and called on the West to immediately provide heavy weapons, as Russia claimed it was in control of almost all of the strategic port city and urged its last defenders to surrender.
Moscow said Ukrainian forces in the city must lay down their arms by Sunday, after weeks of relative calm in the capital Kyiv were brought to an end by renewed Russian airstrikes.
Austria's chancellor, the first European leader to meet with Vladimir Putin in person since the invasion began, said he thought the Russian president "believes he is winning the war" in Ukraine.
But in the south, the devastated city of Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine's unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state on February 24.
Moscow officials now say they are in full control there, though Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the city's fortress-like steelworks.
"The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman," President Zelensky said in a video address.
"Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there."
The New Arab is providing live updates of what's been happening on the ground and additional analysis on the conflict's significance.