the governor of donetsk yesterday said three civilians were killed in russian attacks in the region, this as local officials say at least 38 towns were hit yesterday. causing extensive damage to civilian infrastructure. president zelenskyy says the fighting in the donbas is quote the most difficult. and alleged the russians were trying to destroy everything there. this, as a presidential advisory yesterday said a key city in the region is facing relentless bombardment and could become the next mariupol. in its intelligence briefing earlier this morning, britain s ministry of defense said russian forces are trying to encircle this town, but are facing stiff resistance from ukrainian fighters. joining us now, live from central ukraine, is nbc s jay gray. jay, thank you as always for being with us today. give us the very latest on this fierce fighting we re seeing on the ground in eastern ukraine.
ourselves. tens of thousands. goodness. yeah. as you point out, melissa, we can t get in there. our teams can t get in there. appreciate it. thank you. we re following russia s relentless bombardment and gruesome attacks in ukraine. a number of ukrainians are afraid and understandably traumatized. of course they would be. civilian toll of this is just hour horrendous. cnn spoke to an american psychiatrist who traveled to ukraine to help people with cope. suzanne malveaux reports from ukraine. a warning, we have to give you this warning often, some of the images may be disturbing. reporter: in the cities of bucha, and irpin, the streets are quiet, the sun shines brightly. the russian forces that committed gruesome crimes just weeks ago are gone. as part of a therapy exercise with her family, 8-year-old sophia is asked to draw what it was like for her during the
the east of ukraine. as a russian armoured column tries to cross a river, ukrainian artillery appears to have destroyed an entire battalion tactical group, including dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers. ukrainian officials say this is the third attack in three days. but on the front line near zaporizhzhia, the russian assault continues to inflict heavy damage on family homes and people s lives. shells just missed this house. further east in mariupol, satellite imagery shows the extent of russia s relentless bombardment of azovstal steelworks. the last remaining ukrainian fighters in this city have been here for weeks. ukraine is still trying to get them out alive. in the black sea near 0desa, russian forces continue to control the strategically important snake island, but they ve been under attack from the air with military equipment destroyed.
according to the us thinktank, the institute for the study of war. it says russia has failed in its efforts to encircle the city, and now appears to be focused on withdrawing its troops safely across the border. but russian troops are intensifying their attacks in the donbas region, which is now seeing some of the heaviest fighting as frances read reports. severodonetsk, in the east of ukraine. as a russian armoured column tries to cross a river, ukrainian artillery appears to have destroyed an entire battalion tactical group, including dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers. ukrainian officials say this is the third attack in three days. but on the front line near zaporizhzhia, the russian assault continues to inflict heavy damage on family homes and people s lives. shells just missed this house. further east in mariupol, satellite imagery shows the extent of russia s relentless bombardment of azovstal steelworks.
it is thursday, may 5. great to have you here. john bermen is off today. if there is hell on earth, that is inside the steel mill in mariupol. these are extraordinary images revealing what hundreds of women, children and elderly ukrainians have endured for two months. relentless bombardment. that s the sound of the ukrainian soldiers singing the battle hymn of the ukrainian army. there in the underground bunker. singing, it is sweeter for us to die in battle than live in