between promising and then actually arriving on the front line. they need to be delivered to ukraine. they will come in and the west of the country, they need to be transported east, and what they are saying right now is while it is great that those weapons have been promised and are on the way, time is of the essence. promised and are on the way, time is of the essence. the ukraine government says bombs are being used to the final stronghold of resistance. 0ur correspondent has been speaking to a relative of one of the fighters inside that plant. in the fog of war, russia s ferocious firepower is unrelenting. the azovstal steel plant still holding out against the siege of mariupol. perhaps a few hundred ukrainian troops are defending it. the commander calls it hell on earth. but they seem to have refused another deadline of today,
a reality for even more people. ukrainians released these pictures of their front lines to show they are digging in and ready to fight although some ground has been lost to the russians in the east, they have had some early success in holding back this new offensive in the battle for donbas. the ukraine government says bombs are being used to smash the steel plant in mariupol which has become the final stronghold of resistance. 0ur correspondent in kyiv, mark lowen, has been speaking to a relative of one of the fighters inside the plant, desperately hoping for news that he s alive. in the fog of war, russia s ferocious firepower is unrelenting. the azovstal steel plant still holding out against the siege of mariupol. perhaps a few hundred ukrainian troops are defending it. the commander calls it hell on earth. but they seem to have refused another deadline of today,
they have had some early success in holding back this new offensive in the battle for donbas. danjohnson, bbc news, lviv. the ukraine government says bombs are being used to smash the steel plant in mariupol which has become the final stronghold of resistance. 0ur correspondent in kyiv, mark lowen, has been speaking to a relative of one of the fighters inside the plant, desperately hoping for news that he s alive. in the fog of war, russia s ferocious firepower is unrelenting. the azovstal steel plant still holding out against the siege of mariupol. perhaps a few hundred ukrainian troops are defending it. the commander calls it hell on earth. but they seem to have refused another deadline of today, set by moscow for their surrender, protecting around 1,000 civilians holed up in the cold war era bunkers and tunnels. food, water and time
with crimea which it annexed from ukraine in 2014. there is an effort to rescue civilians from the city where 100 thousand people remain trapped. the azovstal steel works a massive plant in the port city has become the last centre of ukrainian resistance. our correspondent mark lowen has the latest. in the fog of war, russia s ferocious firepower is unrelenting. mariupol, once a thriving port city, besieged and broken. the last bastion of ukraine s resistance is the azovstal steel plant, perhaps a few thousand soldiers and civilians in its bunkers and tunnels a patch of land holding out against one of the world s biggest armies. and now a rare voice from inside the nightmare. this is our appeal
good evening and welcome to bbc news. ukraine s president volodymyr zelensky says he s ready to swap russian prisoners of war in exchange for the safe passage of civilians and troops from the beseigned city of mariupol. as the russian offensive intensifies in the eastern donbas region, mariupol remains a key russian target. it would link russian controlled regions in the east with crimea which it annexed from ukraine in 2014. there is an effort to rescue civilians from the city where 100,000 people remain trapped. the azovstal steel works a massive plant in the port city has become the last centre of ukrainian resistance. 0ur correspondent, mark lowen, has the latest. in the fog of war, russia s ferocious firepower is unrelenting. mariupol, once a thriving port city, besieged and broken.