At a press conference, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko indicated that civilians may still be hiding in bomb shelters at the Azovstal steel facility in Mariupol; where the city’s final defenders are battling Russian soldiers.

“A sustained ceasefire regime is essential to be able to say 100 percent whether the evacuation of civilians has halted”. “The Russians don’t give you that chance.” We presume there are citizens awaiting evacuation.”

In recent days, dozens of individuals have been evacuated from the location to safer areas of Ukraine. Over the previous few weeks, Russian soldiers have bombarded the steel mill with artillery and bombs; seeking to eliminate Mariupol’s last bastion of resistance.

According to the mayor, some 100,000 citizens remain in the southern port city and are awaiting evacuation.