KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — Powerful blasts rocked the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital and reverberated near the main city in the country’s west on Saturday as Ukraine braced for expected reprisal attacks fueled by Russia’s fury over the loss of the flagship of its Black Sea fleet.
Meanwhile, what was likely a final struggle for control was playing out in Mariupol, the strategic southern port city that has been the scene of relentless Russian attacks during the seven-week war. Ukrainian officials deny the city has fallen, but its last defenders appeared to be holed up and dwindling in numbers amid a desperate fight.
In Ukraine’s east, Russia pushed ahead with a buildup of troops and military materiel in advance of an expected major offensive, while continuing to rain indiscriminate-seeming shellfire on towns and cities that Ukrainian officials have urged civilians to flee.
