Ukraine Russia Conflict: Heavy shelling in Mariupol as Zelenskyy vows never to give up Kyiv

This afternoon Ukraine’s president said Russia would have to carpet-bomb the Ukrainian capital and kill its residents if it wanted to take the city.

There has continued to be heavy shelling in Mariupol where the city’s deputy mayor pleaded for people to be allowed out and for aid to get in.

President Zelenskyy has demanded the release of Melitopol’s mayor saying that CCTV footage showed him being kidnapped by Russian soldiers.

Fighting near Kyiv has intensified with Russian forces said to be edging closer to the capital.

For the first time, President Zelenskyy put a figure on the number of Ukrainian military personnel who have been killed since the invasion – 1,300.

And a warning, this report contains distressing images.