Russian offensive near Chernobyl – Must have kidnapped mayor

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– Street fighting in Mariupol

British intelligence writes in its morning report that Russia continues the offensive against a number of key cities Saturday, as Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Mariupol, where there have been fierce fighting for some time.

– They steer away from large urban infantry operations, and lean on air and artillery guns in their attempt to break the Ukrainian defense, they write.

They further write that Russia will probably continue with this tactic to minimize the loss of its own forces – and that at the expense of civilians.

Later on Saturday, however, Mariupol rapporteur Vadym Boychenko announced that street fights are taking place in the center of the port city.

He says in a televised session that the situation is critical, and that he has been in contact with the French ambassador to Ukraine to hear about evacuation options for civilians.

Ten humanitarian corridors

It is agreed to keep ten humanitarian corridors to open today, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

She says the aim is to evacuate particularly vulnerable people at front lines in Ukrainian cities.

7,331 people were evacuated on Friday via two humanitarian corridors from Mariupol and Berdyansk, respectively, according to figures from Ukrainian authorities. 2800 of these left Mariupol in private photos while 4000 were evacuated from Berdyansk by bus.

The case is being updated.

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