Two “super powerful bombs” shook Mariupol on Tuesday, as Ukrainian authorities made a new attempt to rescue civilians from the besieged port city, which has been shelled mercilessly since Russia’s invasion began almost a month ago.

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 200,000 people are trapped in the strategic city, which has been described as a “freezing hellscape riddled with dead bodies and destroyed buildings” by those who have managed to flee.

“We know there will not be enough space for everyone” on Tuesday, but “we will try to carry out the evacuation until we have gotten all the residents of Mariupol out,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk promised in a video address.

“It is clear that the occupiers are not interested in Mariupol; they want to raze it to the ground, to reduce it to ashes,” authorities said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turned to Pope Francis for assistance, pleading with him to mediate the conflict and help end “human suffering.”

Earlier, Zelensky stated that if Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed to direct talks to end the war, all issues, including the contested eastern regions of Donbas and the annexed Crimea peninsula, would be on the table.

However, he warned that if his country does not surrender, it will be “destroyed.”

In response, the Kremlin stated that it would like to see “more active and substantial” negotiations with Kiev.

Increasingly ‘brutal’

Russia’s position was “well-known to the Ukrainian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “we would like a more substantial and swift response.”

After several rounds of talks between delegations meeting on the border between Belarus and Ukraine, the two sides are now negotiating remotely, but little progress has been made.

With Russia’s military campaign appearing to be stalled, there is growing concern that Putin may resort to even more drastic measures to turn the tide.

US Vice President Joe Biden warned that Putin was considering using chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine, calling Moscow’s tactics “brutal.”

Biden is scheduled to visit Brussels on Thursday for a series of summits with NATO, EU, and G7 leaders before heading to Poland, which has taken in the majority of the more than 3.5 million Ukrainians fleeing the country’s civil war.

‘Desperate bid’

According to Ukraine’s federal prosecutor, at least 117 children have been killed in the conflict since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

A total of 548 schools have been damaged, with 72 completely destroyed.

Russia has continued its offensives in the face of unprecedented Western sanctions, which have caused international companies to withdraw from the country and cut the country’s key banks off from the SWIFT messaging system.

However, both Western and Ukrainian experts believe the war is not progressing as planned by the Kremlin.

According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, the invading forces were “frustrated” and “stalled” due to a lack of supplies.

The assessment was backed up by Ukraine’s army command, which stated that Russian troops now had enough ammunition, food, and fuel to last only three days.

According to the army command’s Facebook page, 300 Russian soldiers have defected in the north-eastern Sumy region.

Even in areas where Russia has taken control, resistance has persisted.

Ukrainians “are going after Russians and pushing them out of places where Russians have previously been,” Kirby said, pointing to the southern city of Mykolaiv.

“We’ve seen an increase in this over the last few days.”

Ukraine’s leaders accused Russian troops of firing on unarmed protesters in the occupied southern city of Kherson on Tuesday.

A series of videos shared on social media and the messaging app Telegram showed citizens protesting Russia’s recent seizure of Kherson’s “Freedom Square.”

Soldiers from Russia were seen firing into the air.

According to a statement issued by Ukraine’s foreign ministry, an elderly person was injured.

“The humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating,” it said, accusing Moscow of blocking an aid corridor to evacuate civilians and bring in food.

Pivotal target

More critical was the plight of Mariupol residents, who had been without power and water for days.

Several bids to evacuate the population had been made but they have rapidly collapsed with both sides trading blame over violations.

According to Ukrainian officials, the priority on Tuesday was to get civilians out. According to Deputy Prime Minister Vereshschuk, three routes have been planned to connect the port city to Zaporizhzhia.

The siege of Mariupol, which killed over 2,000 people, was described as a “massive war crime” by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Russia had given Mariupol until Monday morning to surrender, but Kyiv rejected the deadline, saying the city’s resistance was bolstering Ukraine’s overall defence.

‘Unwinnable’

Zelensky has renewed his call for direct talks with Putin, continuing his relentless diplomatic push.

The Ukrainian president stated that he is willing to discuss Russian-occupied Crimea and the breakaway Russian regions in Donbas, but he insists that they must be returned to Ukraine.

“At the first meeting with Russia’s president, I am prepared to raise these issues,” he said, adding that any agreement involving “historic” changes would be subject to a national referendum.

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, it was past time for Russia to end its “absurd war” in Ukraine.

“Even if Mariupol falls,” he said, “Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house.””This is an unwinnable war. It will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table sooner or later. That is unavoidable “He continued.