LVIV, Ukraine — As battered, sun-starved Ukrainians trickled out from the ruins of the port city of Mariupol, Russian forces Monday pressed new bombing runs in the east and south of the country and U.S. officials warned Moscow will attempt to annex larger chunks of territory it occupies.
How many Ukrainians were finally allowed to escape a city devastated by steady Russian artillery was not immediately clear. Ukrainian officials said that in a number of evacuations, Russian forces have rerouted those fleeing to Russian-held territory against their will.
Families that did reach the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia under auspices of the United Nations told of harrowing trips filled with dread — after two months of struggling to survive in the darkened tunnels underneath Mariupol’s steel plant. Hundreds of wounded Ukrainian soldiers and more civilians remain holed up there, the last Ukrainian redoubt as most of the city has fallen to Russia.
