Fighting has reached the center of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko tells The BBC, “They were really active today. Tanks and machine-gun battles continue.”
“Everybody is hiding in bunkers.”
Over 80% of residential buildings are damaged or destroyed, he says.
“There’s no city center left. There isn’t a small piece of land in the city that doesn’t have signs of war,” he says.
The rescue effort at the city’s theater, where hundreds are believed trapped, is ongoing.
The city lies at a strategic point between two Russian-controlled regions on the Sea of Azov, putting it in the Kremlin’s crosshairs.
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