Six weeks into Russia’s bloody siege of the strategic port of Mariupol, the troops who put up a fierce fight to keep the ruined city in Ukrainian hands have begun to surrender, according to Moscow.
With Ukrainian authorities reporting tens of thousands dead there, AFP takes a look at how the siege unfolded:
– Pounded, encircled –
On March 2, a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s artillery begins pounding Mariupol, a predominantly Russian-speaking city of 441,000 inhabitants some 55 kilometres (35 miles) from the Russian border and 85 kilometres from the pro-Russia separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
The mayor accuses Russian forces and pro-Russian fighters of looking to “impose a blockade” by cutting off food supplies and vital infrastructure, including water, electricity and heating.
Taking control of the city would allow Russia to link up its forces in the Crimea peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, with the occupied ports of Berdyansk and Kherson and the separatist region of Donbas further to the north.
– Maternity ward bombed –
On March 9, Russia targets a building housing a maternity ward and paediatric hospital in Mariupol, killing three, including a young girl.
Ukraine and the European Union condemn a “war crime”. Russia claims the building is sheltering Ukrainian nationalists.
– First evacuations –
Mid-March sees the start of the evacuation of thousands of civilians from the city via a humanitarian corridor.
Early attempts to bring people out fail amid mutual recriminations between the warring sides.
– Theatre destroyed –
On March 16, Russian airstrikes raze a theatre providing shelter to around 1,000 people, according to Ukrainian authorities who estimate a death toll of around 300.
Moscow denies the attack, blaming Ukraine’s far-right Azov nationalist battalion.
– Refusal to surrender –
On March 21, Kyiv rejects a Russian ultimatum to Ukrainian forces to surrender Mariupol or face being court-martialled or worse.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says the city played “a huge role in destroying the enemy’s plans and enhancing our defence”.
Civilians who manage to undertake a highly perilous escape in their own vehicles describe a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings”, according to Human Rights Watch.
– Ceasefire, more evacuations –
On March 30, Moscow announces a local ceasefire to allow the establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Mariupol and the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-held port of Berdyansk.
The government sends 45 buses to evacuate residents. The International Committee of the Red Cross struggles in vain to get a team to the city to help the evacuation.
On April 4, Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko says the city has been “90 percent” destroyed, talking the next day of “a humanitarian disaster”.
– Claims of hiding evidence –
On April 6, Zelensky says Russia is blocking humanitarian access to Mariupol because it wants to hide evidence of “thousands” of people killed there.
On April 7 the new “mayor” of Mariupol, Konstantin Ivashchenko, installed by pro-Russian forces, says that around 5,000 civilians have died.
– ‘Last battle’ –
On April 11, marines in the city say they are preparing for a “last battle” to control Mariupol.
Zelensky puts the toll in the “tens of thousands”.
A pro-Russia rebel leader says separatist forces in eastern Ukraine have taken control of the city’s port.
The United States says it has “credible information” that Russia may use “chemical agents” in its offensive.
– Reports of Ukrainian surrender –
On April 13, Russia’s defence ministry says that 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers have “voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered” near a large iron and steel factory where Ukrainian forces had been holding out.
